


Love Comes Wearing Disguises

by Mahla



Category: Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Action, Coulson Lives, Deception, Developing Relationship, Doombots, Drama & Romance, F/M, FrostIron - Freeform, Lady Loki, Light Angst, Light-Hearted, Loki hates them all, Loki helps, M/M, Magic, Nick Fury Lies, Nick Fury is Not Amused, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark Friendship, Post-Avengers (2012), Romance, SHIELD, Secrets, Slow Burn, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, all the lies, avenger!loki, questionable morals, relationship-heavy, thor tries his best, with some feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-07-05 03:39:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 100,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15855468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mahla/pseuds/Mahla
Summary: New York is in shambles, and so are the Avengers. Tony's had enough of SHIELD's schemes and decides to quit, which is bad news for Fury, since SHIELD could use his expertise in the face of new rising threats. When Thor returns to Earth with a weakened Loki in tow and orders from Odin, Fury gets a brilliant idea... a plan involving Loki, magic, seduction, fake business transactions, and so, so many lies.But maybe there is a bit of truth in the mix, as a certain God of Mischief and a Man of Iron are about to realise.





	1. The Prologue

It all came together rather too seamlessly. 

The year after the attempted invasion of Earth by the Chitauri was, in many ways, hectic. First, there was the clear-up and reconstruction, which was still ongoing; Tony Stark threw millions at the effort and to so many causes that it was hard to keep track. Captain America was seen personally clearing up the rubble and saving trapped citizens after the attack, relentlessly and tirelessly helping in whichever way he could. 

Fury mostly had a headache. There was a lot to cover, a lot to sweep undercover, and even more to uncover. Thor went off to Asgard with Loki in tow, and there was no contacting him; there was a malevolent alien power out there somewhere, targeting Earth; and then there was Coulson.

For a while Fury had thought Coulson was actually dead. Loki had hit him hard, and the poor man had been in a very sorry state. But what was SHIELD if not resourceful? The medical team was top-notch, not to mention they had contacts. Miraculously, agent Coulson pulled through and was back on the job four months later. The only thing he was upset about – aside from almost being killed – was that his trading cards had been soiled. Blood was a pain to get off, anyway, and those cards were vintage. Stark had managed to find an another set, and had made the Captain hand it to the agent personally as a ‘get well’ card – Coulson had been too stunned to even say thanks.

And while SHIELD was busy trying to make sense of everything, Thor returned. It had been nine months since the attack, and the news the god had to bring were not what Fury necessarily wanted to hear. It turned out that Odin had decided to use the same kind of punishment on Loki as he had used on Thor – toss him out of Asgard to right his wrongs, improve as a person, something like that, Fury stopped listening to Thor’s explanation when the sound of blood pounding in his ears became too loud.

“So he won’t have his powers?” Fury asked, and knew the answer even before Thor replied; the thunderer wasn’t the greatest at poker faces.

“Not quite so,” Thor said. “The All-Father feels that Loki will be more useful to you with his powers still with him. He thinks that my brother has caused so much harm that making him a mortal would not assist Midgard at all.”

“Let me get this straight,” Fury gritted his teeth, trying very hard to keep his voice calm. “You want us to play host to a demigod who tried to conquer Earth, killed people, and almost brought the apocalypse upon us?”

“Yes,” Thor nodded, seemingly pleased that Fury had caught on. “However, while the All-Father thinks he can assist you with his powers, he also thinks Loki is a threat if his powers are at their peak.”

“Which means…?” Fury was very wary with the matter.

“The All-Father has greatly reduced his powers,” Thor explained, and when Fury only stared at him with one narrow, suspicious eye, the god continued. “It means Loki can still do magic, but not to the extent he used to be able to. Every bit of magic he uses will drain him more and faster than before and is not as effective, his physical strength is less than what it was, and his innate healing is slowed down.”

“So he’s partly mortal?” Fury raised a brow, remembering Thor’s very real mortality when he had been cast out of Asgard.

“In a manner of speaking,” Thor nodded. “He won’t be able to escape with the means left to him, and I can overpower him in an instant if necessary. I will, of course, offer my assistance in any way I can. The All-Father has sent me to watch over my brother, should he become difficult or uncooperative, but I am also his guardian of interests.”

“His what?”

“Loki is at your service,” Thor said seriously, “but that doesn’t mean you can abuse him. I’m here merely to make sure you do not treat him too harshly.”

“The guy tried to take over the world and destroyed half of Manhattan!” Fury exclaimed none too kindly. “As far as I’m concerned, he _deserves_ to be treated harshly!”

“Loki has suffered a part of his punishment, already,” Thor frowned grimly. “Rest assured, Loki has paid. This arrangement is merely for your benefit, and for his further rehabilitation.”

Fury almost scoffed at ‘rehabilitation,’ but decided to leave it be. “And you can promise me he won’t start killing anyone or double cross us all?” he asked instead. 

“Yes,” Thor replied, but didn’t seem as sure as Fury would’ve liked. “I’ll be here to watch him. Besides, Asgard will also keep an eye on him. He cannot run.”

So that’s how it was, and Fury had very little say in it all. Maintaining good relations with Asgard seemed like a good thing to do, and apparently Odin was of the opinion that while he was punishing Loki, he was also doing a huge favor for Earth; Fury didn’t particularly want to disrespect a being who could bring down an army to take over their mortal realm – for their own benefit, of course, which didn’t particularly make him feel better.

 

Fury wasn’t sure what he had expected from Loki when he arrived, but somehow the god wasn’t at all what he had assumed. He didn’t seem defeated, per say, but there was something different about him. Maybe less crazy, and more… distant. When they slapped a tracking bracelet on his wrist – knowing his love for disappearance tricks – he barely blinked. Fury had, of course, arranged maximum guard upon his arrival, and his lodgings at SHIELD headquarters – where they had agreed to keep him for now – were guarded and monitored. It wasn’t quite a prison; he was still allowed to move about and technically do what he pleased, but numerous restrictions applied. His “room” (which was really a cell turned into something a bit less drab) had camera surveillance, and Coulson was in charge of keeping an eye on the tracker when Loki was unaccounted for. Loki didn’t have clearance to leave beyond the staff quarters on his own, and was not allowed near the staff rooms. The staff didn’t want him there, Fury didn’t want him there, Loki didn’t want to be there. Restrictions made the people working there feel safer, at least. 

Loki clearly hated the situation as much as everyone else (save Thor, who seemed to think this was a new beginning for his wayward brother), but he wasn’t obnoxious about it. He was still arrogant and cold, but not to a point where Fury would’ve thought he’d start trying to rule them again. He looked mostly tired or bored, but seemed to know what the situation was and what was expected of him. He wasn’t kind to any of them, and they weren’t kind to him; but there were clearly rules at play which kept both parties in check. Fury assumed that Odin had threatened Loki with such horrid punishments that it kept the god quiet, and nobody in their right mind wanted to attack him after knowing what he was capable of – even if his powers were lesser than before. It was a type of a cold war between Asgard and Midgard, in a sense.

At first Fury didn’t have a clue what to do with Loki. He thought of various petty chores he could send the god on (there were socks that needed washing and spare eye-patches that needed arranging), but didn’t seriously consider doing it – there was always the chance that Odin’s punishment wasn’t bad enough to make Loki endure what they threw at him. Besides, Thor was never far from his brother. He acted as a guard and a bodyguard, keeping everything under control and nullifying all hostilities between Loki and the others. So instead, the brothers lashed out at each other, which Fury didn’t mind as long as they didn’t start wrecking things. Thor’s continuous company seemed as much of a punishment for Loki as his forced servitude.

And the brothers did indeed clash more often than not. The first few weeks especially were difficult for everyone in the near vicinity of the Asgardians. Loki seemed to vent his frustration and anger at Thor, and never missed a moment to get on his nerves or tell him how his intelligence was inferior, how he was nothing but a brainless brute, how he had done this and that stupid thing when they were younger and how they’d both be dead if it wasn’t for Loki himself. Thor, while obviously trying to stay calm and patient, had his limits, and rose to the bait sometimes too easily. Loki had clearly used the same techniques to rile him up in the past, and the mighty Thor’s mighty voice could be heard throughout the base when old, and more recent, sores were brought to surface. Loki blamed Thor for being an egotistic and ignorant ass and for treating him like dirt; Thor reminded him of his treason, murders, lies, and attempted genocide – not to mention the New York incident. Loki in turn shouted something about favoritism and voids and idiotic friends, and at some point it all devolved into heated slurs and I’m-not-your-brothers, and eventually physical violence, which always turned out in Thor’s favor considering Loki’s condition.

Honestly, Fury tuned out most of it. Thor was able to control Loki, if not his own temper; that was good enough. A few times he had to butt in or send someone to butt in to prevent damage to the property.

“That is enough!” Fury shouted one particular time early on when Thor had accidentally body-smashed a whole table in the mess hall. “Do I have to separate you two?”

Thor got up and so released Loki from his grip. Fury had no idea what they had been fighting about that time, and he didn’t particularly care; what he did care about was the fact that the crew felt very unsafe not only in Loki’s company, but by proxy, Thor’s.

“I apologize for our behavior, Director,” Thor said humbly, and meekly tried to fit the table pieces back together. “I assure you…”

“I don’t give a damn what you assure me,” Fury seethed. “Stop breaking our stuff. I don’t care if you punch each other’s faces in, but take your arguments away from people. There’s a sparring room if you feel destructive. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Director,” Thor almost hung his head. Loki looked sour.

It wasn’t the last time they fought, but at least it was the last time they did any major damage to their surroundings. Loki was only violent near Thor and vice versa, because the two drove each other insane (Fury had to question Odin’s logic in making Thor his brother’s guardian). Otherwise Thor was as amiable and likeable as ever, and Loki bluntly ignored everyone and kept to himself – if he spoke, it was with derisive scorn.

Oddly enough, Coulson wasn’t too disturbed by Loki’s existence so close to him. Fury had imagined that the man would want revenge, or maybe be afraid; but nothing of the sort could be detected. Agent Coulson was a true professional, and if he felt something he kept it hidden.

On one occasion Loki and Thor happened to be walking about the base and met Coulson; Fury was there to witness the encounter, ready to call back-up in case of anything. 

“Don’t I know you? I have a feeling I killed you,” Loki squinted at the deadpan agent.

“Didn’t do a very good job, I’m afraid,” Coulson shrugged with a neutral-as-all-hell smile.

“Not my first failure,” Loki retorted with a rueful grin. “How careless of me.”

“I prefer it this way,” Coulson deadpanned. “And I’d like to keep it like that.”

Loki raised his palms as a sign of truce.

“I have no ill will towards you,” he said in a tone which could have been anything from sincere to predatory. “It was never anything personal. You were in the way.”

“Of course,” Coulson replied and his face was so neutral it was a bit scary. Loki nodded at him, and continued onwards with Thor. A few minutes later the brothers were shouting at each other about how Loki had tried to kill Coulson; the argument quickly turned into digging up past feuds. Fury had a feeling the two needed a bloody therapist to sort through all their damn issues. Coulson smiled eerily calmly the whole time.

 

With Loki onboard, Fury had to figure out what to tell the Avengers. Thor obviously knew, and Romanoff and Barton were too closely connected to SHIELD not to find out; they were both tight-lipped, as well, so Fury trusted the information to them. Barton wasn’t happy at all, but Fury made it clear that this was a matter of diplomacy and any hostile activity against Loki or Thor might result in an interdimensional war which absolutely nobody wanted. Barton hadn’t forgotten his time as a mind-controlled slave, and it still haunted him; he tried to avoid Loki the best he could, but a part of him obviously yearned for confrontation and a payback. Fury told him  _no_ .

Otherwise Fury reasoned that it was best to keep Loki a secret from the world and from anyone who didn’t see him on a daily basis. Banner didn’t need to know – that sort of information might have caused unnecessary green around his ears, anyway. He didn’t spend time at the headquarters in any case, so not telling him wasn’t hard. Rogers was left out of the loop because he could not keep secrets if his fellow Avengers weren’t told, and Stark… well, that was another story.

Tony Stark had not approved of the Council’s plan to nuke New York or to weaponize the Tesseract, and since that incident he had hacked SHIELD again – as one does – and uncovered some more information which he wasn’t particularly happy about. He hadn’t liked the thought of his tech being used in weapons of mass destruction or indeed any destruction (not without his knowledge, anyway), and he had been even less happy when he had found out that SHIELD had been systematically trying to hack into  _his_ system. The last straw had been when he had discovered that SHIELD had had someone shadowing Miss Potts for months – apparently he was so mistrustful that even his friends and staff were under surveillance. Stark didn’t care how many times he himself was spied on; he pleaded guilty for that, too, but  _nobody_ had any right to give trouble to Miss Potts or anyone else he cared about.

As a result, he had called off all co-operation between himself and SHIELD. He would not give them any assistance, and would not consider himself a part of their team anymore. He said he’d help fight against threats if he wanted to, and he’d defend the city in his own terms and independently; he refused to answer any calls from SHIELD and would not play nice with them, not even when Coulson asked him politely. 

This hadn’t been a pleasant surprise for Fury or SHIELD. They needed Stark tech – they knew it was the best, and they wanted Stark to develop things for them, because  _he_ was one of the best; sure, they didn’t particularly trust him and knew they couldn’t control him, which is why they had done what they had in the first place. SHIELD and Stark’s companionship had been fragile at its best, but the co-operation was necessary for SHIELD, with benefits for Stark, as well. Now that such assistance was not possible, many projects SHIELD had been planning on were put on indefinite hold. They tried to bargain, reason, and negotiate, but Stark had made up his mind. He said he’d never wanted to be an Avenger anyway, and that SHIELD should be pleased that he had left – as he reminded them,  _they_ hadn’t wanted him in the first place.

That had been Fury’s life now; trying to re-establish a business connection with Stark, and to find a suitable place for Loki. When he came up with a plan that would potentially solve both problems – well, sort of – he wanted to kick himself for it taking so long.

The plan was simple. They couldn’t get Stark tech as SHIELD, because Stark could smell them and see through all their attempts to be sneaky. What they needed was a proper scheme – reasoning with Stark hadn’t worked, so SHIELD was getting desperate. And that’s where Loki came in. 

During the three or so months Loki had spent with SHIELD Fury had, of course, made a detailed record of his magical skills, with Thor’s help. When it had dawned on Fury that Loki was able to essentially become other people through his magic, the plan had begun to form. It wasn’t necessarily morally correct, or nice, or anything of the sort, but it was worth a shot – ends justified the means and all that. They were trying to protect innocent people, after all.

All information on Loki was hidden deep in SHIELD files, but not where people like Stark would start looking if they were in a hacking kind of mood. Coulson was the only one who knew where the files were, and how to get to them, and where to hide them, and as far as Fury was concerned, it couldn’t get safer than that (there were rumors that it was all written down on paper and that there was no digital trail at all, but then again, only Coulson knew the truth). Thus Stark had no idea that Loki was back on Earth, and so he wouldn’t suspect him being a part of anything suspicious. 

They were going to send Loki to Stark as a representative of a clothing company looking to buy Stark tech – a distant enough branch of business for Stark not to get immediately suspicious – and Loki would use his illusions to look like a woman. The reasoning behind this was Stark’s love of female beauty and all things connected to it; they were hoping that stunning looks and some flirt would soften him up enough to not pay attention to too many details or to dig too deep into it. Thor said that in his female form, Loki could magically be more alluring than the general populace, which would work in their favor, and which had in the end convinced Fury of the plan. He didn’t seriously think that just a pretty face and a nice figure would win someone as smart as Stark over, but magically enhanced allure? That was something quite else.

Rumor had it that things hadn’t worked out so well with Miss Potts and Stark, so there might even be a chance for the plan to work better than expected. Miss Potts still lived at Stark Tower, though, and Fury knew she was as sharp as Stark; but when Coulson – the unfortunate mediator between SHIELD and Stark – had informed that Miss Potts would be taking a two-week holiday, the plan was set in motion. With her out of the way, Stark was more prone to overlook details.

Loki wasn’t thrilled about the plan, but Thor said that it wouldn’t be the first time Loki used his illusions in such a way, and assured everyone that his brother made a beautiful woman. Nobody knew what to say to that.

 

 


	2. The Plan

When the day to send Loki out on the field came, there was a lot of tension in the air; Fury didn’t trust the god, but had to assume he wouldn’t try anything funny – he would be monitored, after all. Fury, Coulson, a slightly wary Barton, Romanoff, and the two gods had gathered in a secure room for a final debrief.

”We’ve mailed him everything under the name of Jane Doyle,” Romanoff informed them all. Fury and Barton had decided on the name because it seemed common, yet sophisticated. Romanoff had remarked that the character needed a middle name in order to seem more real, and Coulson had come up with ‘Lorelei’ in a heartbeat. When Fury had raised a questioning brow at this, the agent had merely shrugged and said it was a name from a song he had listened to a lot during his recuperation. No one questioned this further, but Barton’s narrowing eyes suggested that he was going to spend the rest of the day googling. 

“Anyway,” Romanoff continued through Barton’s snickering, “She’s the CEO of _Endless Fashion_ , a successful, up-and-coming clothing company from London looking to buy Stark technology to further their production. Loki has read the file thoroughly, I’m sure.” She glanced at the god in a way which promised pain and murder if he hadn’t. Loki merely nodded curtly.

“SHIELD has taken care of Miss Doyle’s background information, as well as the company’s,” Fury said, going through the files. “It all holds up. As long as Stark doesn’t start digging _too_ much.”

“There’s no reason he would,” Romanoff shrugged. “His underlings have gone through the paperwork – it’s just another business transaction to them. _Endless Fashion_ is so far from Stark’s usual field that he might not doubt too much. We won’t give him a reason to suspect, and Miss Potts is not around to double-check as of now. Well strengthen the plot as we go.”

“Anyway, Loki,” Coulson turned his eyes at the doubtful-looking god standing a carefully measured distance away from his brother. “Your job is to get his name on the papers and leave an impression, so that when the situation arises he’ll be more inclined to listen to your opinion.”

“Surely this is a one-time thing?” Loki crossed his arms across his chest. “Life as the CEO of anything seems frightfully boring.”

Coulson merely stared at him, and Loki cocked a brow. “Anyway, let’s get you in the disguise, then,” the agent said evasively.

 

They had already tested Loki’s illusion before – just in case it wouldn’t be what Thor had assured them it would be. They had all gathered the very same room they were now in, even Barton, who technically had no reason to be present but was determined to include himself in it all, like a moth to a flame. He had insisted he would need to see it, and promised to play nice.

Everyone had fixed their eyes on the god; Thor with quiet confidence, the agents with immense curiosity – and Fury with a glare that had betrayed nothing. Loki had sighed.

“I will not be able to maintain the illusion for more than a few hours at a time in my… current state,” he had spat bitterly.

“Noted,” Fury had said curtly.

Loki had closed his eyes, and in a brief green glimmer he’d changed. His hair had grown longer, his features had softened; he’d lost height. His armor had adjusted to fit his new curves, and when he had opened his eyes he had looked smugly at their dropped jaws. Thor had laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. He – she? – was very good-looking.

“As fine as ever!” the thunderer had chuckled and made Loki roll his eyes.

“Amazing,” Romanoff had commended. “The armor isn’t quite what we wanted, though.” Suddenly she’d been by Loki’s side with an issue of Vogue; she had pointed at something from the pages, and in another green shimmer Loki’s armor had vanished and instead he’d been clad in an emerald green silk blouse, black pencil skirt and black heels. Thor had held a mirror to him, and Loki had looked at the reflection with scrutiny. Then he had conjured himself some make-up to match the outfit.

“Perfect,” Coulson had smiled approvingly. 

“Won’t he be able to just turn himself into a bird and slip out of that tracking bracelet?” Barton had asked grimly.

“This is merely an illusion,” Thor had explained while Loki had looked at him sourly. “Loki isn’t shape-shifting; he’s merely casting an illusion on himself. He cannot shape-shift in his current state.”

The answer had soothed the agent, but made Loki look even bitterer than before.

 

And it had been settled. Loki’s disguise was excellent and definitely up to Stark’s standards. Now that the time had come to send him to the mission and he was in in his female form again, they could all feel a bit more relaxed about the plan working.

Coulson held up a large, sleek purse. “We have a bag ready for you with the documents. Here’s the microphone and earpiece – we’ll hear everything and can give you pointers if needed. Do you think you can hide…”

Loki didn’t reply; instead he put on the tech and made it look like golden jewelry – a pair of earrings and a necklace suspiciously reminiscent of the usual gold detailing on his armor.

“Now, there is one more thing,” Coulson said and suddenly looked mildly uncomfortable – which for him meant that his smile was a touch less serene than before. “He’s probably going to flirt with you.”

“No question,” Romanoff nodded. “But that’s kind of the point. Go along with it. Encourage it, even.”

“Very well,” Loki gritted his teeth and everyone was a bit taken aback by his feminine alto.

“Soften him up,” Romanoff offered. “We need that signature, and we need his co-operation. Thor says you can somehow be more… attractive than normal people.” She looked a bit doubtful, and Loki narrowed his eyes. Then he strode slowly towards Coulson, his heels clicking on the floor.

“Agent,” Loki purred, looking straight into Coulson’s eyes and holding his gaze. “How is this for proof?”

Everyone stared at Coulson, whose eyes seemed glued to the god in front of him. Then Loki laughed and walked away, leaving the agent very still and very perplexed.

“Please never do that again,” Coulson choked after a moment, forcing his polite smile back on.

“What?” Barton squinted at the agent. “What was that?”

“All I’m saying is the magic works,” Coulson cleared his throat with an almost imperceptibly uncomfortable shudder. “That was… weird.”

“Mind control?” Barton muttered darkly, suddenly staring daggers at Loki, who huffed in annoyance.

“Hardly,” the god snorted. “I cannot control anyone’s mind. What your Agent experienced was merely… inexplicable attraction. It cannot alter his decisions directly, but it does make me more appealing to him. It’s from the same school as mind control, but nothing as severe, so do stop fingering your weapons. I may have learnt it from the best, but I’ve never felt the need for that particular kind of magic.”

“And it is well you haven’t,” Thor glowered darkly. “Such powers are questionable, to say the least.”

“I’m not surprised you would think so,” Loki grinned.

“Alright, enough,” Fury interrupted sternly. “Loki, your job is to butter Stark up and get his signature. Go along with any stupidities he proposes.”

“And if I should have the irresistible urge to throw him out of a window again?” Loki asked with a murderously sweet smile.

“That’s only normal,” Fury deadpanned, and Barton chuckled.

“Just try not to,” Coulson said. “You are Jane Doyle to him. He’ll see a pretty face, and if you play your cards right…”

“Please don’t end that sentence,” Barton shuddered. 

“That’s not what I meant,” Coulson corrected in a deadpan voice. “All I’m saying is he’ll be more likely to play along if you, you know, use your… looks.”

“Are you flattering me, agent?” Loki grinned and batted his lashes furiously at him. Coulson looked uncomfortable while Barton roared with laughter.

 

Tony Stark felt like crap. The day so far had been so boring he thought he might have died a little inside; Pepper was on vacation, and even though she had hired a substitute, Tony still ended up going to more meetings – he didn’t trust the new guy. He didn’t trust anyone as much as he trusted Pepper. The meetings had been god-awful, because the people attending were god-awful, too. He had had to justify his competence to them all the time, and whatever he suggested they second-guessed. Stupid Board.

That wasn’t the only thing wrong with his day, anyway. He’d slept poorly, he had an itty bitty hangover, and he hadn’t been able to find his whiskey in its regular spot in his nightstand. What he had found instead was a note from Pepper saying “no drinking in the morning” with a sarcastic heart drawn at the end. Tony hadn’t known that hearts could be sarcastic, but this one was. 

And now he was on his way to yet another meeting in the conference rooms in his tower. Miss Jane Doyle from  _Endless Fashion_ , apparently. He vaguely remembered reading some documents about something like that last week. Since when did he make deals with clothing companies? Since when did  _he_ have to go meet whatever representatives instead of literally anyone else? Pepper’s substitute was already slipping. When he got to the door of the room, he already knew he was late, but screw it,  _Endless Fashion_ needed him more than he needed them – well, he didn’t need them at all, so there was that. If Miss Doyle felt insulted, she could just waltz right out of there. Tony put his business face on and entered the room.

“Miss Doyle?” he greeted brightly and a tall, willowy woman turned to look at him. Tony blinked a few times in surprise – somehow he had expected a sterner or, well, an uglier looking woman than this. Miss Doyle was gorgeous, that much was certain; her heavy black hair was artfully curled and contrasted with her pale skin beautifully. Her lips were just the right shade of red, and her make-up was noticeable but not taken overboard. Her figure was A+, and she obviously knew it, with the confident way she had dressed herself. But what drew Tony’s attention were her eyes – they were such a glorious shade of green that he was almost sure she had to be wearing contacts. Her presence hit him like a rocket blaster.

“Mr. Stark,” Miss Doyle strode elegantly to meet him, her heels clicking against the floor. She offered him her hand and Tony shook it – it was soft and cool, and her manicure was flawless.

“A pleasure,” Tony nodded, and his business smile turned into a more suave one. Maybe this meeting wouldn’t be so bad, after all. 

“The pleasure is all mine,” Miss Doyle smiled. “To think I’m in the famous Stark Tower, having a meeting with Tony Stark himself.” Tony huffed in laughter. She was obviously flattering him, but he realized he didn’t mind one bit. He liked the way she said his name.

“ _Endless Fashion_ is quite successful, though,” Tony said, remembering from the files that the company had had considerable success overseas, or something. Success somewhere, anyway. “I’m sure you’ve been in some pretty sweet places.”

“Oh, none as famous as this,” she smiled and glanced out of the window; the view wasn’t very great from the third floor, though. Tony knew instantly what he was going to do, and if he ended up regretting it afterwards, so what? Pepper wasn’t there to rein him in or reprimand him. It was all her fault, really.

“Sorry if this sounds forward, but,” Tony began, and she raised her brows at him, “I’ve had a rough day and this conference room is crushing my will to live. Would you mind if we took the meeting upstairs? The view from the top floor is pretty cool.”

There was a brief pause and for a moment Miss Doyle looked almost confused, but then her face melted into a charming smile.

“I would not mind at all,” she said and picked up her bag from the table. “I must confess, seeing the view was one of my secret wishes.” _Oh was it now_ , Tony thought and tried not to grin as he escorted her into the elevator. He wasn’t quite sure if she was trying to flirt with him or butter him up for the deal – and anyway there might not have been a difference between the two.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped into Tony’s penthouse.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Tony spread his arms and started making his way towards the bar. “Make yourself at home.”

“You certainly know how to choose your lodgings,” Miss Doyle hummed and looked around. Tony seemed to notice she was less fascinated by the view than he thought she would’ve been.

“Gotta live the life,” Tony quipped. “Would you like a drink?”

For a moment Miss Doyle just stood there, facing him with a curious little smile that kind of reminded him of something. Her lips quirked in a way which made him think she was trying to suppress a wider smile.

“Thank you, I would love to,” she smiled.

“Anything in particular?” Tony asked. “I’ve got scotch, vodka, liquors… well, I’ve got most of the things, really. Pick your poison.”

“Hm, surprise me,” Miss Doyle said with a luscious smile and turned towards the great windows.

“Ah, the classic,” Tony grinned and picked up a tumbler for himself and a martini glass for her. She seemed like the type to appreciate martinis. He watched her walk towards the windows as he was pouring the drinks, and couldn’t help but appreciate her smooth steps and the velvety way in which she carried herself.

“The view is impressive,” Miss Doyle commended as she looked upon the city. “You’re a lucky man, living so high above… everything.”

“It has its perks,” Tony replied as he carried the drinks over. “I don’t like to look down on people, per say, but you know. Living high is better than hiding in a basement or something. Can’t hide from the world, anyway, so why not get in its face?” He handed her the drink and had to wonder what the hell he was babbling on about. Inexcusable. 

“Thank you,” she smiled as she held up her glass and raised it to her lips. She took a tentative sip, almost as if she had never encountered a martini before – surely not the case – and her eyes seemed to narrow as she tasted the liquid. She held the glass a bit lower afterwards and turned to look at the city again.

“It’s beautiful,” she hummed. “Wonderfully reconstructed, as well. I was not here during the… incident, but the news coverage was extensive.”

“Yeah,” Tony sighed and tried not to think too much about the invasion a year ago. There was a reason he sometimes needed his morning whiskey. “Had to renovate this tower again, too.”

“Ah, I see,” she turned to look at the interior. “Did it suffer much damage?”

“A bit here, a bit there,” Tony shrugged and tried to be casual. “The windows in this room had to be replaced, the walls needed work, and let’s not even start on the floor.” He glanced at the spot where the Hulk had made a Loki-shaped hole, and Miss Doyle’s eyes followed his gaze. He thought he saw her suck her teeth in distaste, but that must have been the martini. 

“So, uh, Miss Doyle… can I call you Jane?” 

“If you wish,” she smiled and they sat down on the couch.

“Any relation to the author?” Tony asked jokingly.

“Not that I’m aware. It’s not that rare of a surname,” Jane chuckled and put her glass down on the table. “Now, Mr. Stark…”

“Tony.”

“Tony,” she corrected with a small nod of her head; her black curls shifted and revealed a bit of her pale neck, and Tony tried so hard not to stare. “Shall we talk business?”

And business they talked. Even though Tony hadn’t prepared too well for the occasion, he was able to catch on quickly; Jane had brought along all the required documents both on paper and in electronic form, and going through everything wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Tony briefly wondered why this woman had been given a personal appointment with him – surely this was something others could have handled? It was nothing but a pretty straightforward trade agreement. It must have been Pepper’s substitute’s fault. Not that Tony minded terribly – it had been a while since he had met someone as interestingly alluring as Miss Doyle. And he still wasn’t sure if she was trying to flirt, affect his decisions, or if she was just naturally seductive, and he was dying to find out. She had agreed to come up with him, so maybe she was a bit more light-hearted than CEOs usually.

_Endless Fashion_ was going for an experimental route with their apparel, which explained why they needed Stark tech – they wanted to go beyond mere clothes, Miss Doyle explained. Tony knew it was risky, but admired their confidence and drive; he also knew that he could cut them off the moment they stopped paying for this stuff, if it should come to that. Miss Doyle assured him that it wouldn’t be the case, and that she would personally get in contact with him at the first sign of trouble.

“Do you find everything agreeable, Mr. Stark?” Jane asked when they were done going through the documents and revising them based on Tony’s suggestions – he was calling the shots, after all.

“Tony,” he reminded her, and she smiled briefly. “Yeah, everything seems to be in order. We’ll start delivering as soon as possible.”

“Wonderful,” she almost purred. “A pleasure doing business with you, _Tony_.” The way she said his name somehow brushed his ego, and he watched her sign the documents in flourishing hand. He signed afterwards, and they shook hands when she had gathered her things and they had both stood up.

“Thank you for this opportunity,” Jane smiled in a way that made Tony want to scream. Her martini was untouched on the table.

“Don’t mention it,” Tony waved his hand casually. “I hope Stark Industries will be able to propel your company to further greatness.” _Wow, that sounded pompous_. But she smiled, so he felt it was a victory nevertheless. 

“I must be off,” Jane brushed aside some stray strands of hair from her forehead. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She began moving towards the elevator and Tony followed, as a good host would, but he suddenly had the urge to stop her. She seemed like the type who’d be excellent company out of business circles. He could’ve bet they’d have fun together, if given a bar and a few drinks.

“Are you flying back to London soon?” Tony asked and they stopped at the elevator doors. She took a moment to reply.

“No, I have some errands to run in the city for the next few weeks,” she answered, but her pleasant smile looked somewhat strained. 

“You know, I’d love to know more about _Endless Fashion_ ,” Tony said. “As it happens, I’m currently looking for stuff to wear for public appearances, and since we’re business partners now, it might be profitable for the both of us for me to promote your clothes.” It was a lie, it was all a lie, but it could be made reality. He just hoped _Endless Fashion_ wasn’t one of those weird ones who made suits out of trash bags or whatever. Damn, he should’ve checked beforehand.

Jane looked briefly hesitant, as if she was going through an inner turmoil, but then she smiled pleasantly.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” she smiled.

“Great! How about dinner on Friday? Business, of course. My treat.”

“I’d love to,” Jane agreed, but again there was a hint of strain in her smile. Tony ignored it.

“I’ll pick you up from your hotel,” he offered. “Where are you staying?”

“I’ll let my people get in touch with yours,” she replied. “I’m currently changing hotels, and I’m not sure which one to pick. I’ll let you know as soon as possible.”

With that, Tony escorted her out. He felt good about this. It was just business, of course, but who says business couldn’t be fun? He was sure she was a _killer_ when not working. When she was gone, Tony stared at the closed door for a moment, feeling oddly stunned. Jane Doyle had consumed his every sense during her brief visit, and he wasn’t quite sure what to think of it. He shook his head as if to clear it, and went back to his duties with a spring in his step. 

 

Loki was picked up from a pre-designated spot in the city, suitably far away from Stark so as not to be suspicious. Thor had said that Loki could teleport, but that in his current state it took too much energy when he also had to maintain an illusion for extended periods of time; thus ‘Jane’ was picked up like anyone else. When he arrived in the room with the team waiting, he was greeted by a loud, noticeably mean-spirited, whoop from Barton, a slap on the back from Thor, and an approving smile from Coulson (which was like any smile of his, only accompanied by a small nod). Romanoff and Fury were as cool as ever. 

“Fine work, brother!” Thor exclaimed. Loki, having already shed the illusion on the way, tossed the bag on a nearby table with some distaste.

“No thanks to you,” he hissed somewhat wearily. “Why were you telling me to bat my eyelashes at him all the time, Thor? Your voice almost drowned out his.”

“I’ve heard it’s an effective way to gain status with Midgardian men,” Thor frowned. “Surely you must see it worked!”

“Yeah, the flirt was spot-on,” Barton snorted with a wry smile. “That old dog. Had his mind set the moment he laid eyes on you, I bet.” Loki made a face at this.

“That egotistical wretch. Can someone explain to me why I’m going out with him on Friday?” Loki asked venomously. “This is not proper business conduct, I am sure.”

“Yeah well, the opportunity presented itself,” Fury shrugged smugly. “We’ll take what we can. We need more tech than just what a clothing business would require, and for that we need to establish trust. Then we can start developing ‘new machines’ which require more specific parts.”

“Then could you not have started out with a business that already needs those?” Loki hissed. 

“No,” Romanoff answered. “He’d be suspicious. He knows we’ll try something, and a new company looking to buy exactly those things? He’d never trust it. Clothes are seemingly harmless.” Loki sighed and rubbed his temple.

“I do not approve of this at all,” he grumbled.

“Too bad,” Fury frowned sternly. “You have limited options. It’s either this, or the next rainbow home.”

“From a cell to slavery, how lovely,” Loki rolled his eyes drily. Thor frowned.

“It’s not slavery, brother,” he said. “You are aiding Midgard. And surely it’s not so bad! Could you not see this as a game, like in the old times?”

“Old times?” Barton leaned forward curiously. “What’s that supposed to mean? Do I want to know?”

“Ah, I will gladly tell you!” Thor beamed while Loki groaned. “When Loki first learned to use his magic to alter his appearance, we used to place wagers on what he could make others do for him when he was in the form of a lady.”

“Sounds… great?” Barton frowned warily. “What kind of wagers?”

“Such as whether he could get a man to serenade him in public, or slay terrible beasts for him,” Thor explained with a voice full of nostalgia. “Did not always end so well, though.”

Loki snickered. “Families might have been broken, shall we say,” he grinned. “And appendages lost.”

Barton grimaced at this, and Coulson clearly had no idea what to think. Thor looked almost regretful.

“I don’t know how I feel about you trying to win money on Stark’s expense,” Coulson said. “Especially not if any appendages are at stake. We are trying to keep a low profile.”

“We would do nothing of the sort, son of Coul!” Thor assured him earnestly. “Just a few light-hearted jests.”

“I suppose,” Loki mused and seemed to be in a better mood, “that if I must play this part, I might as well try to have fun with it.”

“I don’t like where this is going,” Romanoff shook her head, and promptly left the room.

“Neither do I,” Fury’s eternal frown deepened. “I don’t want you two messing around with this. He might get suspicious. No wagers of _any_ kind.” He fixed his stern eye on the two gods, and Thor looked defeated while Loki merely shrugged.

“Now,” Fury continued as Romanoff came back carrying a bunch of things. “Since Miss Doyle is going to be associating with Stark, she will need equipment.” Romanoff laid her bearings down on a table. 

“This here is a phone,” Fury picked up a cellphone which he tossed at Loki. “Learn to use it, the manual is here. We’ll have someone contact Stark about picking you up. You are currently staying at The Plaza, and you’ve brought two assistants with you. Once we’ve sorted the dinner date, you’ll get a message on your phone.”

“This here,” Romanoff handed Loki a bunch of papers, “is everything you need to know, as of now. Your business in New York, the places Jane Doyle needs to visit, the people she needs to contact. We’ll be in your ear during the date, of course, but it’s good if you already know what you’re talking about.”

“Will you cease calling it a date,” Loki sighed. “We’re trying to do business, surely…”

“You know what he wants,” Barton grinned almost maliciously, clearly enjoying the situation. “Be business all you want, he’ll do his best to get into your pants.” Loki looked appalled at the idea, and even Thor looked a bit uncomfortable.

“Surely there’s no need to go that far…” Thor said with a worried glance at Fury. “It’s not right to ask it from Loki, and it’s a dirty trick to play on the brave Man of Iron, as well.”

“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Fury huffed. “Agent Barton, kindly stop making remarks like that. No one’s getting into anyone’s pants.” Barton looked deflated.

“I just thought it was only fair that since Loki tried to fuck _us_ up, somebody could –”

“Agent Barton!”

“… Sorry, sir.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll space out the chapters more reasonably from now on, but I thought the first chapter should follow soon after the prologue, to get things going. :)


	3. The Date

Tony felt so elated for the rest of the day that he skipped the rest of the meetings – they were all doing fine without him, anyway, and Pepper probably knew what she was doing, hiring the substitute. Meeting Miss Doyle had really boosted his ego and made him think that perhaps he should just start having fun again.

Things with Pepper hadn’t gone quite according to plan. She had moved into the tower and it had been amazing – Tony had been very happy. And so had she, at first; but then the alcohol became an issue, and then the Iron Man thing became an issue. One time Tony had been out having a punch-out with some doombots (Doom was trying really hard to be the next big bad, it seemed), and when he had returned, bleeding and battered, with some broken ribs and a sprained ankle, Pepper had been reminded of every reason why dating a superhero who was squishy inside all the metal was a bad idea. It was a matter they’d gone through over and over, but it was never easy for her. 

In the end, she had decided it was best if they just took some time off from it all. In her tearful speech, she said she still loved him, in a way, but couldn’t handle all the shit that the Iron Man caused. She said she wanted to have quiet evenings at home and not only when Tony was too injured to go out; she wanted to go out with him without having to fear that a supervillain was lurking behind a corner to harm them; she didn’t want to live in fear of being used as leverage against Tony.

So they had split up, and he had tried to tell himself it was okay. That it was temporary. That they’d still get together, eventually. She hadn’t even moved out – she’d just picked herself a set of rooms elsewhere in the tower, and everything continued as usual… just without the sex and the cuddling, sadly. And then the day had come when she had given him the pass to “be with other people,” if he wanted; and wasn’t that just the nail on the coffin that was their romantic relationship.

It was hard for Tony to deal with this, and he had no idea how Pepper managed; she practically lived with him, she worked for him, and she was dealing with their break-up, and not once did she project any ire or try to avoid him in any way. He supposed she wasn’t as okay as she seemed to be, but he had to admire her resolve and the sheer cold professionalism. There had been a reason why he had found her so special, and this was it. And thinking about it made him gloomy as all hell.

Now, however, he was feeling a bit better. Miss Doyle seemed like someone who he could have some fun with; he hadn’t really seen anyone since the break-up – not beyond one-night-stands that somehow left him feeling worse than before – but Miss Doyle was too perfect-looking to pass. He’d totally try to get into her pants… or skirt, whatever, despite feeling a bit odd about it, still. A part of him was so very hung up on Pepper, and just flirting with Miss Doyle felt a bit like cheating. But whatever, he pushed the feeling aside – Pepper had given him leave, anyway. 

Tony got to his penthouse again and poured himself another whiskey. He flopped on the couch and chuckled to himself.  _Miss Doyle_ … it was strange how he still thought of her as Miss Doyle instead of Jane, even though he himself had insisted they were on first-name terms now. He figured it was because the name ‘Jane’ just didn’t seem to suit a woman like her. He wasn’t sure why, but it just didn’t. It was also strange how infatuated he was. He didn’t know what drove him to pursue her so quickly; he was sure she wasn’t going to be easy. There were a myriad of people out there who would throw themselves at him for nothing more than a smile and a wink, but no, the newfound business partner was the way to go.

He frowned to himself.  _Are you that desperate_ , he thought.  _Hey, the opportunity presented itself. She’s clearly into me_ . He sipped at his drink _. Into you, or into the business deal?_ He shrugged.  _Does it matter?_

It didn’t. Miss Doyle was hot.

His phone made a noise and he checked the email he had gotten; it was from his assistant, letting him know that Miss Doyle had been in contact and was staying at The Plaza: seven o’clock on Friday would suit her perfectly. Tony replied and told his people to confirm, and then to book a table at the fanciest place in town. 

He smiled to himself. It would be great.

 

“Almost time to go,” Romanoff smiled sweetly that Friday afternoon – but not sweetly enough to hide the sadistic glee the situation brought her – and waved an issue of Vogue in her hand as she entered the same room they had gathered in before sending Loki to Stark for the first time. “Date night!”

Loki looked like he wanted to groan, but as everyone was now present, he couldn’t stall any longer. He cast the illusion on himself again, and Jane Doyle stood before them in her green blouse and black skirt.

“Ah, that won’t do,” Romanoff said far too cheerfully and approached Loki, browsing through the magazine, while Fury, Barton, Coulson, and Thor stood by and observed. “That’s not an outfit you wear to a place like that. We need something more… aha!” She showed something from the magazine to Loki, who glanced at her with incredulous eyes.

“Are you serious?” he frowned at the magazine. “Isn’t that a bit too much?”

“Not at all,” Romanoff replied airily. “The restaurant is very fancy, and I think Jane can pull this off easily.”

“Very well,” Loki sighed, and soon stood before them in a long, velvety, dark red dress which hugged every curve on his – her – body. It was very open at the back, and the men present seemed to try hard not to say anything inappropriate. 

“Perfect!” Romanoff gave him the thumbs-up. “Now just some gold jewelry and the mike, and you’re done. Maybe add a bit more make-up, just to match.”

Thor held a mirror for his brother again and the changes were made. 

“Just a thought,” Barton said from the corner, tying his bracers; he was about to leave for a mission, and almost regretted missing the ordeal. He eyed ‘Jane’ up and down. “That’s just an illusion, right? What if Stark gets handsy?”

“I’ll make sure he lives to regret it,” Loki muttered under his breath, but Thor jumped to his defense.

“Have faith in Loki’s magic!” he exclaimed. “He may not physically be a lady, but you couldn’t tell without possessing magic yourself. Go ahead, touch him! You’ll be surprised.”

He yanked Loki’s arm towards Barton, making both of them cry out in distaste.

“No thanks!”

“Unhand me!”

“I only meant,” Thor let go of his brother and sighed in frustration, “that your mind is tricked into thinking that what you see is what you touch. Loki is wearing his armor, but should you touch his dress, you’d feel that dress. Or think you’d feel it. Or… you know.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “It’s complex, yet simple, magic. You wouldn’t understand.” 

Barton gave him an ugly glare.

“Yeah, whatever. I just hope ‘Jane’ here doesn’t look like a dude in Stark’s security cameras. Might have wanted to make sure before you sent her there…”

“And we did,” Coulson smiled serenely. “Loki? Could you explain?”

With a withering stare at them all, and an extremely theatric sigh, Loki did as he was told.

“What you see is a glamor. I’m not going to into specifics, since there would be no point with you, but in short it means that I am literally wearing a disguise. Think of it as a costume for your perception. Underneath, I haven’t changed – you just can’t see me under Jane.”

“Bottom line, he can fool cameras the same way any disguise would,” Romanoff summarized. “But we won’t take unnecessary risks. Stark Tower has very high security, and we can only fool people visually.”

“This will crash and burn sooo hard,” Barton shook his head. “Well, have a nice date, _Jane_. I’m off.” And with a wave of his hand he left the room.

“Now then,” Coulson said after clearing his throat. He took out a map. “This is the location you’ll be at. We’ll have someone drive you there. Stark will pick you up presently, and you’ll be headed to this here restaurant. We’ll be in your ear as usual, but I hope you’ve done your homework.”

“Yes, yes,” Loki sighed and sounded frustrated. “Just try not to be as loud as last time.” He glared at Thor, who fidgeted with his bracers. 

 

Tony was in his limo, tapping his fingers on his knee in excitement, too fidgety to even talk to trusty Happy Hogan behind the wheel. He knew he was technically going on a business dinner, but he was determined to turn the tables in his favor. He was going do his damnedest to charm Miss Doyle’s pants off, hopefully also literally, and nothing could stop him. He had a pretty good success rate with women, anyhow. Besides, if she took it badly, no harm done; this business deal wasn’t something he needed. If he was perfectly honest, he probably wouldn’t have done the deal with  _Endless Fashion_ had its CEO not been so alluring. The fact that he couldn’t be completely sure that Miss Doyle was into him – maybe she was just naturally alluring and was only trying to do business – made him a tiny bit concerned. Not that it would stop him from trying. 

Happy pulled up at the hotel, and Tony got out of the car to meet Miss Doyle, who noticed him and began walking towards him. Tony withheld a whistle – she looked amazing in her red dress and gold details. He noticed he wasn’t the only one staring, which made him secretly proud – who’d get to take her out? He would,  _suckers_ !

“You look great,” he grinned as she came to him. She smiled at him graciously and entered the car when he opened the door for her. The back of her dress – or the lack of it – almost floored him as he watched her get in. 

Once they were both comfortably in the limo and on their way to the restaurant, Tony found himself at a loss. What should he say? Should he assume she knew this was more than a business meeting? She was certainly dressed like she knew, but maybe she was just dressing to match the restaurant's standards?

And did it matter to him?

“You certainly know how to travel with style,” Miss Doyle smiled and looked around the limo, which Tony had to admit was his nicest one.

“I do everything with style,” Tony grinned. “Have you been to this place before?”

“No, I have not,” she replied. “I’m quite interested to see what it’s like. I’ve heard so much good about it.”

“It’s the best,” Tony assured. “I love their lamb, but they also make this wonderful appetizer quiche with prosciutto and goat cheese. Very classy.”

For a moment he wondered if he had said too much about food, because she looked a bit confused; but then she smiled so that her perfect teeth were showing, and somehow that reassured him.

“Sounds lovely,” Miss Doyle chuckled. “Are you a culinarist?”

They talked about food for the rest of the way, which felt a bit weird to Tony but if she was okay with the subject, then he guessed it was fine enough date talk. At least he was hungry by the time they got to the restaurant, so it worked out. It certainly wasn’t what he usually talked about when he had a woman in his car, and his dear driver was well aware.

“Not a word,” he muttered in passing to Happy, who was grinning from ear to ear, as he pulled up by the restaurant doors.

They entered the restaurant with a few paparazzi trailing them, but Tony ignored the lot. The staff let them in quickly and guided them to a secluded table on the second floor with a lovely view over a park. Tony did his best to be an absolute gentleman, because something about Miss Doyle just oozed class and elegance – everything she did was smooth and flawless, almost to the point of it being weird. Tony briefly wondered if she was consciously making an effort to appear so elegant, and if so, why. It was almost fake.

Tony ordered them champagne and then wine with the food, and asked her what she’d like for starters. She seemed almost baffled by the menu, and said she’d trust Tony’s judgement. He decided to go with the quiche since he had already mentioned it earlier, and lamb for the main course. He decided to let her decide the dessert when it would come to that.

“So, have you been enjoying New York?” Tony asked as they were waiting for their appetizers and sipping champagne. She drank slowly and carefully, and Tony wondered if she was actually unaccustomed to alcohol – maybe she was from a religious family or something? She didn’t look like someone who’d never encountered booze before, though. She didn’t seem to hate the champagne, however, and Tony felt a wave of relief wash over him. The martini might have been a mistake, but she seemed to like this.

“It’s been lovely,” Miss Doyle replied. “Mostly I have worked, of course, so I haven’t had much time for pleasure.”

“I’m here to help with that,” Tony grinned and held her gaze, and she raised her brows very high. “Let’s just have fun tonight, alright? Amid the business stuff, of course.” He gave her a little wink and poured her more champagne, watching her stunned face. Her eyes betrayed nothing and yet flashed with a million thoughts in that brief moment, but suddenly she laughed airily and looked more relaxed than he had ever seen her.

“Let’s, indeed,” she chuckled and raised her glass. He mimicked the gesture with a grin, and they drank to the evening. “I have some designs of our new line with me, if you’d like to take a look.”

“Sure,” he said and they went over the clothes _Endless Fashion_ was making; Tony was relieved to see they were pretty stylish, and moreover, elegant. They agreed to further the collaboration and she said her people would again get in touch with his.

By the time the appetizers arrived, Tony had called her “Miss Doyle” twice already, and the third time made her cock a brow at him over her drink.

“But Mr. Stark,” she smiled.

“Tony,” he corrected, and she tried to contain a grin.

“Exactly,” she smirked. “And yet you’ve called me Miss Doyle the whole time. I’m not sure what to think.”

“Whoops, sorry,” Tony grinned and leaned back in his seat, regarding her pensively. “It’s the weirdest thing, though. I can’t see you as Jane.”

There was a brief pause and a small frown passed by on her forehead.

“I mean, it’s a lovely name, don’t get me wrong,” he corrected hastily. “It’s just that you don’t really look like a Jane.” Tony had a feeling he should’ve left it all unsaid, but it was too late. She looked thoughtful.

“Hm,” she glanced down. “I’ve never thought it suited me, either.”

“Really?” Tony raised his brows and couldn’t believe his luck. To think she’d go along with it…

“Yes,” she said with a faint smile. “It’s quite ordinary, isn’t it? I’ve always admired people with more interesting names. My family likes it, though, and somehow I was convinced it was good for me.”

“Well, do you have a middle name you’d like better?”

“I do, actually,” she smiled. “It’s Lorelei.”

“Lorelei,” Tony sipped at his drink as if tasting the name. “I like it. Very smooth and elegant, like you. Suits you much better.”

“Thank you,” she smiled almost coyly. “You can use that instead of Jane, if you would like.”

“I will, Lorelai,” Tony said. “Anyone ever calls you that?”

“Not really,” she shrugged. “Jane is short and easy, I suppose, and it was a name that was given to me.”

“Well, I haven’t had that problem with my names,” Tony laughed. “I hate it if I have to write out my full name. Too long.”

“Ah, so Tony is a nickname?”

“From Anthony, yeah,” he huffed.

“Anthony,” Lorelei repeated softly, and while Tony didn’t care for the name, he very much enjoyed the way she said it.

“Just Tony will do,” he smirked. “Should I call you by a nickname, too? To make it even?”

“I didn’t realise this was a contest,” she hummed. “What would you call me, then?”

“Lori,” he shrugged. “Has a nice ring to it. Short, but still soft.”

Lorelei looked almost stunned. Then she laughed as if ‘Lori’ was the most amusing thing she had heard all week.

“You, uh, okay there?” Tony asked and didn’t know whether to be amused or worried when she kept chuckling.

“I’m fine,” she giggled. “Please, do call me Lori. I rather like it.”

“Okay,” he said, still not sure what the hell had just happened. “Will do, Lori.”

The dinner went on in a very relaxed atmosphere. They talked about family, a subject which Tony very quickly directed to her. She wasn’t too keen to talk about her parents, but she had plenty to say about her brother, John. Between courses, she told him incredible stories featuring her somewhat dim-witted and boorish older brother, the golden boy of the family, more brawn than brain, which often got his hot head in trouble. At one point Lori removed an earring, saying it chafed a bit; it rested on the table while she continued her hilarious stories featuring poor John. She really had a knack for storytelling, and Tony was in stitches for most of the time.

“You’ve certainly had a wild childhood,” he chuckled when they had finished their main course, wiping tears off his eyes. “Almost makes me wish I had had siblings.”

“They’re a pain, Tony,” she grinned. “You’re better off without them.” She put her earring back on and Tony handed her the menu.

“Yeah, well,” Tony shrugged. “I guess it’s nice to have some company when you’re growing up.”

“Hm, I suppose so,” Lori said, eyeing the dessert list. “But then again, if I had no siblings, I would inherit the… the company. There has never really been doubt that _Endless Fashion_ will go to my brother, no matter his skills. He’s already the vice-president.”

“Being the sole inheritor doesn’t mean it’s all that great,” Tony huffed. “A lot of pressure on you.”

“Oh, there was pressure,” Lori smiled wryly. “I was always expected to excel – do better than my brother, who was the golden child, father’s favourite. And yet I could never be good enough.”

“I know that feeling,” Tony replied. “Just because you’re an only child doesn’t mean you get off easy. Better to have a brother to play with than try to get the attention of a man who doesn’t care.”

Lori looked at him over the menu, and Tony froze – what the hell was he doing, talking family issues like that? Hell, he didn’t even  _want_ to talk about that stuff. He’d revealed more to her than he was usually comfortable revealing in a decade; they’d only just met, and there they were, sharing parent stories. Lori, however, gave him a small smile.

“The grass is always greener on the other side, isn’t it?” she said, and Tony chuckled, swallowing his discomfort and suppressing whatever feelings the matter brought him.

“Oh yeah,” he rolled his eyes. “Have you decided what we get for dessert?” 

“I think we’ll have this,” Lori pointed at something for the waiter, who nodded, commended her on the choice, and left.

“What was it?” Tony asked, dying to know. 

“The sample platter,” Lori smiled.

“Ah, that’s perfect if you can’t decide,” Tony grinned.

“Or if you want it all,” her eyes crinkled in amusement. Tony raised his glass at her for that.

Tony had a great time that evening. They talked a bit more about business, ate the dessert, had some more wine, and chatted all kinds of nonsensical things about New York, London, food, and clothing. Lori was a really charming person, but there was something mysterious about her. Tony felt like he didn’t quite know what she was about; she had an aura of mystery, and it drove Tony mad with curiosity. She was like a puzzle he needed to solve, a science problem to examine. Not to mention she was hot as hell.

Once they had finished their dinner Lori said she needed to get going. They agreed on further business meetings – Lori said she would have her people work on the ideas Tony had for the clothing line, and would then get in contact when she had something more concrete to tell him. Tony drove her to The Plaza, and they exchanged rather formal cheek kisses and Lori waved him goodnight before entering the building. Tony got home feeling incredibly elated and a little bit horny, and didn’t feel the least bit guilty about it.

 

“I’m most angry with you, brother,” Thor grumbled when Loki got back to the base. “Why did you have to tell the Man of Iron all those stories about me?”

Loki could barely contain his amusement. Barton was sitting in the corner, looking miserable – he had returned from his mission long after Lori’s tales about ‘John’s’ misadventures.

“Why did I have to miss it,” he shook his head. “Please tell me there are recordings.”

“Classified information, agent Barton,” Coulson said with his trademark smile. Barton groaned.

“Don’t be so upset, Thor,” Loki sat down carelessly. “I had to remove the earpiece because your ridiculously heated voice was again drowning out his. Besides, he doesn’t know it was you. And I was involved in many of them, too.”

“You told them most one-sidedly!” Thor frowned. “I should like to correct some of those falsities.”

“That hardly matters,” Fury raised his voice, ending the budding fight. “We’ve got more important things to talk about. Loki, well done. We’ve established some more ground for this endeavor, but we’ll need to start pushing harder soon. Our enemies have been busy.” He looked to Barton, who sighed.

“Yeah,” he said. “I was just snooping around Doom’s favorite haunts on our soil. It appears he’s got some new tech which he is using to make more effective robots. It also looks like there might be something like magic involved, but that’s the other problem – we don’t really have a way of testing for that.”

“Which is why we need Stark,” Fury said. Loki looked mildly curious.

“This Doom possesses magic?” Loki looked from Barton to Fury. “What kind? Where did he get it from? Is it innate, or does he have an object through which he uses it?”

“We don’t know,” Fury said, squinting a bit at the god. “But we’ll need to know. We’ll scan you again, and maybe that will give us some pointers.”

“Hasn’t worked so far,” Barton muttered. “We just don’t have the tech or the brain.”

“Thank you, agent Barton,” Fury glared at the assassin. “Loki, if you prove to be useful with Stark and we can assess you as trustworthy, we might let you take a look at some of Doom’s tech. The ‘if’ is a very loud one, though.”

Loki nodded, not looking particularly excited, but not disinterested, either. Thor seemed to have forgotten his anger and slapped his brother on the back triumphantly.

“Most excellent, brother!” he beamed. “It’s wonderful that you can establish yourself here in this manner. Soon you shall fight among us!”

Loki rolled his eyes and didn’t look very convinced, but said nothing. Romanoff and Coulson glanced at each other, Barton looked extremely doubtful, and Fury merely raised a brow at Thor’s enthusiasm.

“Anyway,” Romanoff said. “We’ll be sending Stark more _Endless Fashion_ stuff, contracts and the like. He’ll be in contact with us, or we’ll contact him. _Lori_ will have to…”

“I preferred Jane,” Barton huffed. Loki grinned.

“Yes, quite the name change there,” Fury sneered coolly. Loki shrugged. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Romanoff sighed. “We’ll build Lori up as we go. All information you have given about her has been written down, so that there is less chance of contradiction in the future.”

“How far in the future?” Loki asked with a steely sheen in his eyes.

“As far as we need,” Coulson smiled. 

“Let’s call it a day,” Fury said. “We’ll brief everyone if something worth noting happens.”

Thor dragged a surly Loki out of the room, again remembering the things he had told Stark. The others could hear them arguing even after the door had closed behind them.

 


	4. The Days After

The next morning Tony woke up in a good mood. It took him a while to remember why he was doing so well, and then memories of Lori and the date resurfaced. He’d genuinely had a really good time, and she had been a very interesting date. It had been easy to talk to her, and she really fascinated him. Somehow he felt a connection, even though they hadn’t talked much about things he usually talked about on dates – movies, music, the stuff. They had dived straight into the heavy stuff like family, and it had felt okay. She hadn’t felt sorry for his situation, and he hadn’t felt sorry for hers; neither had there been any judging on either side. It was extremely refreshing.

Tony sauntered off to the shower and let the water run down on him. He couldn’t get his mind off of last night, and the funny thing was that after such a successful date, he usually managed to get at least a kiss goodnight. Not this time, though, and he frowned when he thought about it. He reasoned that it was because they had technically been on a business dinner, and kisses weren’t really a part of that. But surely Lori had sensed that there was more to it than business? Tony at least hoped so. He had tried to send a vibe. He certainly wanted more. He had to admit he had been a bit disappointed that Lori hadn’t followed him home; not that he had expected her to be easy, but the hope was always there, in the back of his mind.  _ Well, next time, maybe. _ He needed her personal phone number, at least. 

A couple of days went by and there was no contact from  _ Endless Fashion _ or Lori. Tony tried not to think about it too hard – it probably took a lot of time to do… clothes stuff. And besides,  _ Endless Fashion _ needed him as a business partner, so they’d get in touch sooner or later. In the meantime, he kept himself busy in boring meetings, but mostly in his workshop, doing anything and everything he felt like. The suits needed repairs, and he had an idea for a new one, anyway. The mess with SHIELD some time ago had also given him ideas; first of all, he had developed better defenses around his systems, but secondly he had thought he could make something to nullify possible other attacks against him and his tower.

Tony didn’t think SHIELD would send anyone after him or anything – he wasn’t seriously considering a situation where he’d need to fight the Avengers, for example. It was just that he knew their strengths, and he also knew they weren’t the only people who had freakish powers. And some of the people who did have powers or skills weren’t very pleasant. Doom, for example. So far, the guy had been pretty easy to deal with – smash some robot heads in and you’re done. But Doom wasn’t the only one, and he seemed to be as much of a tech guy as Tony was, which, Tony reasoned, also meant that he wouldn’t simply stop developing and improving his tech. The Fantastic Four usually dealt with him, but Doom kept bleeding onto Tony’s turf more and more. 

And there were so many others who Tony knew he had to defend himself against. The mere existence of Thor meant there were others like him, other super-powered space Vikings who might have a complex of some kind,  _ á la _ Loki. Those were the kind of things Tony wanted to be prepared for. He had already fortified his windows and walls after the Chitauri incident, since his place had been in disrepair anyway; now, it should be able to withstand anything short of a nuclear blast. He had also started working on a device that could detect magic. The problem was he didn’t really have anyone to test it on – or indeed anyone he could use to calibrate the thing. He could only guess what kind of a signal magic left in the world – the Tesseract had radiated, which had enabled him and Bruce to track it down a year ago. That was a starting point, he felt, but he didn’t exactly have the Tesseract, and the information he had hacked from SHIELD was rather inconclusive. He didn’t even know if all magic was radiation, or if the Tesseract was a thing in its own category. He had called Bruce about it, but the guy was in the middle of nowhere doing charity or whatever, so he hadn’t really had time to talk about it. Still, better than nothing.

Without anything more tangible to work on, Tony spent his days pulling up files on everything even remotely magic and radiation related (including the classified SHIELD files he had acquired earlier in the year) and toyed with all possible ways those two subjects could work together. He figured that he’d first look into the radiation possibility, and then think further; after that, he was going to start working on something that might detect whatever he discovered. That is how he spent two and a half days in a row, and only then did he remember he needed to eat and sleep sometime (Jarvis was kind enough to remind him). A burger and a two-hour nap later he was back to his theories, missing Bruce’s insight and Pepper’s company.

An email containing files from  _ Endless Fashion _ broke his flow, but he was happy to confirm a new meeting between himself and Lori. He was a bit startled – he had almost forgotten the whole matter while working on other stuff. Now that he had contact from her again, though, all the excitement of her company returned to his mind, and he found it hard not to think about Lori Doyle and her green, green eyes.

 

Loki was not terribly pleased about another “date” with Stark, but less sorry about it than before. Fury assumed it was because he had taken liberties with the character of Jane – now Lori – on the dinner date, and probably felt like he could toy with the whole matter more. Fury wasn’t happy. He didn’t want someone like Loki messing around as he pleased, but then again, Lori had clearly made an impression on Stark. Thor had been right; Loki was indeed able to be far more alluring than people generally were, which had undoubtedly won Stark over, as well. As long as he could keep that up, it would be fine. Loki said that while he could make himself alluring to Stark when with him, he couldn’t cast a love spell on him or anything. It meant that the longer the time between their meetings, the less lingering, magical attraction there would be. He said this through gritted teeth when pressured by Thor – after all, news like that only meant he had to spend more time as Lori. Fury knew Loki was trying to make the best of the worst, but he didn’t want a trickster god taking too many liberties. If things got out of hand, Loki would be off the case before he knew what hit him, and Asgard could deal with him and his agreement breaching ways afterwards.

For now, however, Operation Lori was in full motion. SHIELD had a small team responsible for  _ Endless Fashion _ – the clothes, the brand, everything – their sole task was to make the company seem real. Romanoff and Coulson dealt with Lori herself. They took care of the information gathered about her; what Loki had said, what SHIELD had made her be, and so on. Lori’s personal life was in their hands. Fury had given Barton more missions, because even though things had gone well so far, he didn’t need the agent to be so close to Loki. It was a sensible decision, he felt – there was spying to be done, given that Doom had been acting more and more out of line, and Barton wasn’t a necessary part of Operation Lori, in any case. If he wanted to be around when he had time, he could, but Fury didn’t actively involve him in it.

Thor was a necessary evil. He was endlessly curious about things his brother was going to be doing, no doubt because he wanted to make sure everything was going alright and according to the plan. He was even a bit paranoid about Loki’s well-being, going so far as to question some of the clothing options Romanoff suggested for Lori to wear. She assured him that they were very fashionable on Earth, and that someone as beautiful as Lori would look nothing but excellent in them. Thor wasn’t entirely convinced, saying something about there being too much skin showing, but it was Loki himself who told him to shut up and go sit in the corner while he and Romanoff browsed through volumes of Vogue.

That had been another surprise – Fury hadn’t thought Loki would be into the stuff as much as he was. Thor theorized that since Loki had very little say in anything else in his life at the moment, he took charge of whatever he could – in this case, Lori’s wardrobe. Loki knew very little about female fashion on Earth, but seemed to have an eye for what suited  _ him _ ; therefore it wasn’t too hard for him to choose what suited his female persona. Heated arguments between Romanoff and Loki often arose when Loki had an idea for something for Lori to wear, but Romanoff insisted it wasn’t appropriate or that it clashed with something or other. She and Coulson had agreed that Lori was from a wealthy family – something that should come naturally to Loki, anyway – and therefore had a good, classic taste in clothes and the like; a family business in fashion needed people to match it. Lori needed to look like she matched her background, and some of Loki’s ideas were a bit too much. In the end, the two of them came to an agreement, and Loki went to his room with a bunch of cut-outs from Vogue; outfits for Lori to wear, and for Loki to decide on. Romanoff said she would veto some of his choices if they were inappropriate for the weather or the occasion, but otherwise she gave Loki free reign over Lori’s wardrobe. 

The agents and Fury also refined the details of Jane “Lorelei” Doyle and the company she represented. Taking into account what Loki had told Stark, they fleshed out the character more and decided on the workings of the company – they had already settled on the basic structure before sending Loki out, of course; making  _ Endless Fashion _ a family business explained why Lori was able to do so much and have so much say in things. 

For now, Lori was to tell Stark that the company needed its tech to be more efficient and progressive. They began planning negotiations on equipment that wasn’t particularly hard to get, and which SHIELD could have easily acquired from resellers; their plan was to up the game later. They had devised a plan in which  _ Endless Fashion _ was going to try create bullet-proof clothing, and other subtle security gear. The tech required for the research of such things was of much interest to SHIELD – and not commercially available. Fury was sure it would help their scientists refine and further their own work, and eventually create what they needed.

Despite being heavily involved with Lori’s wardrobe, Loki interacted with the others very little. No one really missed him, save Thor, who sought his brother’s company even when the trickster purposefully holed up in his room. They were still driving each other insane, still fighting daily, and still refusing to be civil. Well, Thor tried, but was met with the brick wall that was Loki’s scathing tongue.

Often Fury ordered Loki to sit in the science department, where a group of nervous scientists would scan, poke, and prod at him. They made him cast spells and tried to trace the source of his magic, but either the trail of it was too weak in its current, diminished state, or Loki was purposefully holding back – in any case they could get no useful data; the equipment wasn’t calibrated correctly, and the readings went haywire. Loki was the least helpful test subject. He always answered their questions directly, but vaguely; he never contributed himself, and not once did he speak more than necessary. He enjoyed intimidating the young lab assistants by giving them his best death glare.

“You understand he is not here by his free will,” Thor shrugged apologetically to Fury, as they were watching the proceedings from behind a two-way mirror. “He will not tell you anything he does not have to.”

“What  _ does _ he have to do?” Fury huffed. His patience had been wearing thin of late.

“Well…” Thor watched his brother turn into Lori and back again while the scientists hurried to get any readings they could. “The All-Father commanded him to obey your organization, so in theory he will have to do all you say.” Thor frowned and glanced at the Director. “Within boundaries, of course. You can tell him to sit there and be studied, but you cannot make him  _ want _ to help you. As long as he does not refuse his assistance by directly disobeying you, he is not breaching the rules of his punishment.”

Fury let out a long-suffering breath.

 

Tony was doing great. He had agreed on a lunch date –  _ business meeting _ , he had to remind himself – with Lori Doyle the following week, and he was thinking about where to take her. She might not be in the States for too long (which made him a bit blue, but he pushed the thought out of his mind), so he was trying to figure out what would be something she might want to experience. He abandoned all thoughts about the general tourist stuff immediately – he didn’t want to take her somewhere crowded and tacky. He knew Stark Tower had everything one could need, and they could order take out, watch the city from his penthouse… he shook his head; that was a bit too much so early on. This was technically still a business meeting, and despite how they had met, it would be too in-your-face to invite her there.

He wished they could just both openly agree that business wasn’t all they wanted. At least, it wasn’t all Tony wanted. He wasn’t entirely sure about Lori, which made planning difficult. She was flirty, but at the same time always brought things back to business. He didn’t know if she was attracted to him, or just playing him. He didn’t mind either, if both options lead to something fun, but he couldn’t be sure she was up for fun. A part of him just wanted to ask her outright – it wouldn’t be the first time he’d be turned down – but something held him back. Suddenly he realized he was  _ afraid _ of scaring her away, and the thought disturbed him so much that he just made a reservation for a run-of-the-mill fancy restaurant downtown.

 

“It’s a lovely place,” Lori said, glancing around the restaurant. Tony wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic or not – the place wasn’t anything special. She turned her attention to the bag she had brought. “I have the papers with me, if you would care to go over them?”  _ Business _ , Tony noted.

“Sure,” Tony smiled with some strain and eyed through the papers. Everything seemed to be in order, and he only needed to discuss a few aspects before signing his name.

“Wonderful,” Lori purred and glanced at him from under her eyelashes –  _ flirty _ .

“A pleasure doing business with you,” Tony raised his drink at her, and she responded in kind.

“I’m sure it will be a profitable endeavor for the both of us,” Lori smiled.  _ Business _ . She then took a slow sip of her wine, her eyes never leaving his.  _ Flirty _ . Tony was going to go insane. He decided to up the game.

“So, how long are you staying in the city?” he asked casually, adjusting his watch as if he wasn’t that interested in hearing her answer.

“Oh, as long as I need to,” she shrugged and watched him closely. “My work is very much tied to circumstance.”

“I suppose you have lots of free time at hand, then?” Tony cocked a brow and looked at her straight in the eyes, the corner of his mouth climbing upwards. For a fraction of a second she seemed to freeze, but then melted into a smile.

“Well, it’s inevitable when one’s business contacts are limited,” she shrugged slightly.

“You know,” Tony went in for the kill, “I’ve got time, too. I could show you around or keep you company. In fact, I’d like that very much.” He stressed his last words meaningfully, and gave her his most flirtatious look.

Lori stared for a moment, her lips parted slightly.  _ She’s gonna say no _ , Tony thought when she was silent. Then, however, she smiled once more and took a sip of her wine.

“That would be… lovely,” she said amicably, but Tony thought there was a strange strain in her voice. Well, no matter – she was up for it and he could’ve punched the air with elation.

“Awesome!” he smiled at her, and she regained her seductive demeanor quickly. “I’ll give you my personal number. Better not bother our hard-working employees with stuff like this. They might start asking for raises! Anyway, jokes aside, you can contact me anytime.” He got his phone out, and she followed suit almost hesitantly. She held the phone as if she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

“Are you ready?” he asked when she stared at the phone as if thinking hard.

“Yes,” she snapped her eyes on him and smiled brightly.

He said his number aloud and waited for her to type it in her phone – an older, run-of-the-mill model, Tony noticed; not one of his.

“Give me a call to see if we got it right,” Tony suggested when Lori was done and merely looked at Tony questioningly.

“Oh!” she jolted and fumbled with the phone. “Of course, pardon me…”

Tony watched her with a lopsided smile. She seemed oddly unaccustomed to cell phones, and he had to wonder whether she was one of those people who couldn’t quite keep up with technology and who had only recently given up their trusty Nokia 3310s. 

Tony’s phone rang in his hand and Lori smiled in what Tony assumed was relief. He saved her number and winked at her, which seemed to confuse her. He didn’t know what to think of any of this – she had seemed so confident and self-assured up to this point, and now something silly like a phone threw her off. Or maybe it was because he had asked her to hang out without the work stuff? It was either of those, maybe both. He decided to find out.

“Not a fan of smart phones?” Tony grinned over his glass.

“What?” Lori looked almost alarmed again. Tony’s grin widened.

“You seem like you’re not quite up to speed with your gadgets.”

“Oh,” she laughed somewhat nervously. “No, well, it’s just that…” she closed her eyes for a moment and then fixed them on him. “It’s a new phone. I had a very old one before, and this smart phone business is rather confusing still.”

“I thought so,” Tony smiled. “Don’t worry. You’ll get the hang of it. As long as you’re more tech savvy with your company…”

“Oh, don’t worry!” she hastened to say. “And besides, other people do the technological things. I merely oversee them.” She looked at him playfully, and he had to laugh.

“To that,” he raised his glass, and she clinked hers with it.

 

When Loki arrived back at the headquarters not long after, he was practically seething. 

“I thought this was supposed to be about business, not  _ dating _ ?” he hissed at Fury, who didn’t even blink at this show of displeasure. Thor glanced back and forth between the Director and his brother, and Romanoff was as stoic as ever.

“We take what we can get,” Fury shrugged. “You said it yourself – Stark won’t be under your spell if you’re not there to influence him, and there are only so many reasons for business meetings.”

“He’s not  _ under my spell _ ,” Loki rubbed his brow.

“You know what I mean,” Fury frowned. “Every time you’re with him, try to sneak in business talk as well. This is going better than expected.” He looked sickeningly pleased with himself.

“And work on your phone skills more,” Romanoff noted sweetly before leaving the room.

Loki’s glare almost matched some of Fury’s better ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm not very good at writing believable science-y stuff, I hope you can give me a pass xD
> 
> Also, this might be a good time to share the song I got the story title from: "My Type" by Saint Motel. There's even a Frostiron fanvid on Youtube where I first discovered the song. Should be easy enough to find, if you're interested :)


	5. The Talks

Tony tried not to think too hard about where to take Lori on a date. It was a few days since they’d had lunch, and he was reeling a bit. Why was he so smitten with her? Obviously she looked like some unholy union of an angel and a succubus, which answered a part of his questions, but he’d seen (and been with) plenty of hot women before. None of them made him feel so elated afterwards. 

It was strange, he thought, standing in front of the coffee maker in his garage. When he was with her, she filled his every sense and he couldn’t get enough of her. When they parted, he was on cloud nine for a while, until after a day or two he almost stopped thinking about her, and she was more of a warm feeling at the back of his mind – until the next time he heard from her and the desire and infatuation returned. She had just notified him that she was free for the rest of the week, if he didn’t have anything better to do. He had replied that he’d be sure to have nothing in his calendar. He shook his head. She was stringing him along, and he  _ let _ her.

He took the piping hot coffee mug and returned to his least-favorite sports car, which he was in the process of improving; he was jokingly calling it the Stark Mobile. It was like a mindless pastime for him – it didn’t really matter, and because of that it was very relaxing. He set the mug next to him on the floor and dove under the car again.

The bad thing about having a mindless pastime was that it gave him plenty of time to think. That’s why he usually preferred to work on his suits or other, more challenging, projects. Now there was only the car, and his goddamn brain.

_ You just like the way she looks, _ he thought to himself. _ Yeah, well, obviously. I definitely wouldn’t mind having her between my sheets. I bet she’s a wild one when… whoa, oil spill, oil spill! _ He shoved an already dirty rag to the offending leakage.  _ Keep your cool, goddamn. She’s just a woman. Some CEO from London. Plenty of fish in the sea. … Yeah but I want this one. I mean, who wouldn’t, right? I’m not planning on marrying her, so give me a break, geez. _

His inner monologue was suddenly interrupted by a familiar disembodied voice.

“Sir, Miss Potts has returned from her holiday,” Jarvis’ ever polite tone informed Tony, and he bounced up from underneath the car.

“Excellent,” he said and wiped his hands on a rag. “Where is she?”

“In her rooms, sir.”

“Thanks,” Tony called and headed towards Pepper’s lodgings at once. He felt nervous. Generally, he was a in a better place in his life now than he had been when she had left; however, he felt like he needed to tell her about Lori. It made him uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, or what Lori wanted, but somehow Pepper needed to know.

“Welcome back, Pep,” Tony greeted as he entered Pepper’s rooms from the already open door. “Wow, nice tan.”

“Thanks,” she smiled, looking great as always, and stopped unpacking for a moment.

“How was it?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

“Oh, it was amazing,” Pepper sighed happily. “It didn’t rain once, and the hotel was really one of the best I’ve ever been to. Great brunch, too.”

“That’s saying a lot,” he said. She huffed in laughter and put away some jewelry. 

“So, uh,” Tony continued, trying very hard not to let the situation become awkward; he was also trying to find a way to introduce Lori to the conversation naturally. “Did you… meet anyone nice?”  _ Smooth, Tony, real smooth. _ He cringed inside.

“What?” Pepper frowned and smiled at the same time in confusion. “I met a lot of people, they were mostly nice.”

“No, I mean,” Tony pressed on. “You said we should, you know, see other people, and then your vacation…”

Pepper laughed. “I didn’t go there to find a man, Tony.”

“Yeah I know,” he said. “But what I’m saying is, it’s okay if you did find someone.” It surprised him how hard it was for him to say it.

She stopped what she was doing and looked at him funny.

“Come on, then,” she placed her hands on her hips. “Spit it out.”

“What?”

“Tony, I  _ know _ you,” Pepper sighed almost patronizingly. “Clearly you want to tell me something. And since you’ve been asking me about men and dating, I’m betting it’s about a woman.” She turned away and continued emptying her suitcase. Tony saw her take out her favorite bikini – which was his favorite, as well. He felt a pinch in his heart.

“Pepper Holmes in action,” he tried to sound cool. She shook her head with a huff of laughter. Tony fidgeted. “Well, yeah, I mean… yeah. I’ve… I met someone who’s pretty cool.” Suddenly he felt like running away. He didn’t want to talk about this,  _ oh God, why had he started talking about this?! _ It wasn’t his  _ style _ .

“Good for you,” Pepper smiled at him kindly, but in a way which told Tony that she wasn’t 100% okay with talking about this. “Did you see her again?”

“Wow, Pep,” he raised his brows as high as his forehead muscles would take them. “Ouch. Ouch a lot. What do you take me as?”

“Tony, please,” she rolled her eyes. “You forget I’ve worked for you for a long time. Before we ever… you know.”

He did know. And oh God, she remembered all the women. Jesus, she had probably ushered half of them out in the morning. Tony had never felt so chastised. 

“Well, let bygones be bygones?” he grinned, testing the waters. She snorted and turned to put away more clothes.

“She’s actually not a… you know,” Tony grimaced. Pepper folded away a few towels. “She’s doing business with us. And I just… uh…”  _ Why had he started talking about this?! _

“Tony,” Pepper moaned, turning towards him. “ _ Please _ don’t sleep with business associates, we’ve been through this before.” She looked completely exasperated.

“I’m not! I haven’t!” he denied instantly.  _ But I totally will _ . “She’s just… nice.” There was no way he could tell her more about Lori now.  

Pepper raised an unconvinced brow, and Tony sighed melodramatically. “Seriously, I haven’t.”

“Uh-huh,” she turned away again, not fully buying it. “Just remember, I have to be the one to patch everything up when it all goes awry, and I won’t be happy with you then.”

“Harsh, Pep,” Tony was actually a bit insulted. So maybe she spoke from experience, but let bygones be bygones, he had already said. “Shots fired, all at me.”

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, during which Pepper finished unpacking her smaller suitcase.

“Listen, Pepper,” he cleared his throat, then, unwittingly fidgeting. “It just… feels a bit… you know. Because… _us_ , and things, you know? And then she’s like… sending mixed signals, and…”

Pepper stopped again and looked at him seriously.

“Tony,” she said softly and looked a bit pained. “I’m happy that you’ve found someone nice, whatever you’re doing with her, but I’m not in a place in my life to start giving you advice on other women. I can be happy for you, and I can support you, but please don’t ask me to sort out your troubles with women.  _ Please _ don’t ask it of me, not yet.”

Her expression made Tony regret everything he had said since he had entered her rooms. She was clearly still recovering from their break-up, and he couldn’t even begin to imagine how she probably felt right now. She looked a bit sad, a bit pleading, and a lot anxious.

“Yeah, of course,” Tony averted his eyes briefly. “Don’t mind me. Seriously.”

“It’s alright,” Pepper smiled. “I’ll see you later, okay? I have so much unpacking to do, and I  _ really _ need a bath.”

“Sure,” he said and began to back away. “Later.”

“Tony?” she called to him before he left the room.

“Yeah?”

“What’s her name?”

“Lori,” he replied. She smiled at him briefly.

“It’s a nice name.”

“Yeah,” Tony said, and closed the door behind him. He then promptly retreated to his workshop, leaving his unfinished car project and a cooling cup of coffee by themselves in favor of something that took his mind off of everything else.

 

Eventually, Tony decided to take Lori for some kind of a tour of the city in his limo, if she wanted to. He figured it was a safe option, in case she wasn’t entirely on the same page with him; and anyway, if things went okay, they could end the day at his place. He texted her the details and she agreed, and he couldn’t stop his heart skipping a beat when her reply came.

His reaction made him feel both infuriated and awesome.

He had a private meeting with Pepper about how business had been going while she was gone – she’d already been briefed by her substitute, but if she was anything it was thorough. She had frowned when she had seen that the CEO of  _ Endless Fashion _ had been given a private appointment with Tony, but it went down as a mistake on her substitute’s part; the man apologized sheepishly and said the _ Endless Fashion  _ people had been very adamant and that he had thought it wouldn’t hurt anyone. Pepper had rolled her eyes at this, but as everything about the company seemed to check out and the substitute hadn’t screwed up otherwise, she’d let it slide. For now.

Besides, Tony seemed more than happy about the turn of events. When she brought up  _ Endless Fashion _ , he got a bit awkward – not a trait she often saw in him. It seemed to her he really wanted to talk about Miss Doyle, but because of their earlier conversation and the history between them, he couldn’t quite bring himself to it. She was glad; she wasn’t sure she really wanted to hear it, anyway. As long as the business deals were dealt with accordingly, she had no major qualms about it. Whatever she felt deep inside, she hid and locked away. 

 

The day was warm and sunny when Happy drove Tony to The Plaza, where Lori was staying; it was right next to Central Park, from where they could go wherever. When he had informed Lori of his plan, she had suggested walking instead of the limo, which had quite surprised him. Tony told Happy to stay on call, in case they got lazy or wanted to go somewhere further, but since Lori had mentioned she hadn’t had time to visit the park yet, Tony assumed they’d probably stay there for a while. 

When Lori stepped outside, Tony thought about calling Happy back immediately – her heels, while making her legs look incredible, seemed very badly suited for walking around all day. When he made a subtle comment about them, she laughed and said she was well accustomed; she was eager to see more than high-rises and sidewalks for a change, but said she wasn’t going to compromise style for that.

Tony had to tip a figurative hat at this.

Lori looked borderline excited to enter the park.

“Such a vast area of green,” she commented, gazing at the trees as if she couldn’t quite believe they were real. “In the middle of all the… brick and concrete.”

“Everyone needs a bit of green in their life,” Tony grinned, playfully catching her emerald eyes. She didn’t seem to understand his innuendo, and took it literally.

“Indeed,” she hummed. “I suppose never seeing trees would get rather tiring after a while. But how is this here? Who had the foresight…?”

“Somebody in the 1800s,” Tony shrugged. “I think the city was getting kinda noisy even back then and people needed a bit more breathing space. Or something.”

“I see,” Lori’s eyes scanned everything as they walked. “Remarkably refreshing. I’ve seen it from the hotel, of course, but I never cared to walk here. It’s so fresh and yet so… urban.”

“You can’t get the NYC out of the… NYC,” Tony laughed. “If you really wanna see natural parks, you gotta got a bit further. A lot further. I mean, you can’t have a totally wild area in the middle of a city this size.”

“Hm, I’ve seen plenty of nature in my time,” she chuckled, and Tony raised his brows. She spoke like a middle-aged person, but she couldn’t be over thirty. He was sure her age was somewhere in the papers. On second thought, maybe he didn’t want to know.

“You like nature?” Tony asked, instead. “Me, I’m more of a city guy. This park’s all the nature I really need.”

“Oh, well, my brother and I used to go camping when we were young,” she explained. “It was nice. Very calming, in a way. I do appreciate the city, as well, but I like a good balance.”

They walked on leisurely, and Tony couldn’t have been more pleased as a few joggers passed them by close enough to startle Lori, who momentarily pressed closer to him and grabbed his arm in a grip which seemed a bit too strong for someone with her build. She was flustered when she noticed, but he merely grinned and held her hand there. She looked borderline disgusted, Tony thought, but from then on they walked arm in arm. She didn’t resist, so Tony counted it as a win.

 

“Mention the business deals,” Fury spoke into the microphone back at the base and thus into Loki’s ear. 

“I wish I could see what's happening!” Thor griped for the hundredth time. “It’s frustrating merely hearing sounds when I have nothing to connect them to.”

“A camera on Loki’s head might have been a bit too much,” Romanoff snorted drily. 

_ “I hope me and Endless Fashion haven’t inconvenienced you too much,” _ they heard Loki’s – well, Lori’s – voice through the transmission.

Stark made a snorting sound.  _ “Don’t even worry. You couldn’t inconvenience me if you tried.” _

There was a bit of laughter and then silence on the other end, and Romanoff resisted rolling her eyes. Thor’s frown deepened as he tried to imagine what was happening – and judging by his swift changes in expression, he considered every possibility.

“Push it,” Fury demanded into the mike. “He still hasn’t returned the latest draft.”

_ “I was just hoping that the draft we sent you has not given you trouble -” _

“ _ It’s in the works, I promise _ ,” Stark replied.  _ “My people will get it to your people ASAP, I swear.” _

“’As soon as possible’,” Romanoff leaned to say in the mike; she had a hunch Loki might not be familiar with the acronym.

_ “Well, I’m glad,” _ Loki’s feminine voice lilted. “ _ Not that I doubt you, of course…” _

“ _ Of course _ ,” Stark’s tone was amused. “ _ Hey, it’s a lovely day, a lovely park – lovely company… let’s not ruin it with work. Are you hungry? I know a good place…” _

Stark clearly wasn’t in the mood for talking about work, so Fury admitted defeat for the day and let Loki do whatever his weird magic did with Stark. The agents and Thor listened while the two went for lunch in the park, talking mostly about the place itself and the history behind it. Eventually Stark offered to buy Loki a drink; he refused, and Fury let him know it was time to end it for the day. Loki complained headache, Stark assumed it was because of the sun; he had his driver take them back to The Plaza, where they said goodbye. 

 

Loki came back, looking like his life was nothing but suffering, as usual.

“Next time we need to get more business in,” Fury frowned as Loki tossed Lori’s bag on the table. The god merely glared back.

“Why so glum?” Barton asked from the corner he had seemed to make his spot in the room whenever he was present. “You get to see sights and eat at nice places all day, at his expense. Some would call it a dream job.”

“Oh, you would, would you?” Loki sucked his teeth as he glared daggers at Barton. “Seems we have different goals in life. And need I remind you this isn’t my  _ job _ ?”

Barton shrugged without a trace of compassion. “You reap what you sow. All I’m saying is, this is way too easy for you.”

Loki looked like he wanted to shut the agent’s mouth with his foot.

“Enough,” Fury barked. “Now, Loki, you need to stay in your room for the evening. Captain Rogers is coming by, and we don’t need to bother him with you.”

Loki rolled his eyes and Thor frowned.

“I’m sure Loki would not be a bother to -”

“He means Rogers doesn’t _need_ to know,” Romanoff butted in and opened the door for the gods. “Thor, maybe you should also stay back for this one.”

“Yeah, have some quality brother time,” Barton grinned. “Talk about feelings, braid each other’s hair…”

Thor perked up at this and looked at Loki with puppydog eyes; Loki buried his face in his hand. 

 

“I’m bored,” Thor complained as he lay flat on Loki’s bed, staring at the ceiling and toying with a strange, multicolored cube lady Natasha had given him. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was supposed to do with it – it had moving pieces and the lady had told him he needed to match the colors; he still had no idea  _ why _ .

Loki was pacing in the small room, and Thor could sense his irritation. It had taken him a century or two to really be able to read his brother’s moods, and sometimes he still wasn’t sure when Loki was purposefully trying to misdirect him. Still, this antsy walking to and fro, the subtle ticks in his fingers, the lips that sometimes curled in distaste – clear irritation. It wasn’t hard to see at all, but it made Thor feel better that he still  _ could _ tell; ever since the Bifrost incident, and Loki’s disappearance, and his eventual hostile return, Thor had feared he had lost his brother for good. And when he had reappeared, he’d been afraid the brother he knew was gone. But whatever had happened, Loki still had his mannerisms, and Thor had hope.

“Sit down, brother,” Thor suggested. Loki stopped momentarily and glanced at him, but did no such thing. “You spend most of your time in this room anyway, Loki. Can’t you relax?”

“Usually you’re not in it,” Loki hissed. 

“But I don’t want to be alone in my room,” Thor sat up. “And since we can’t really go anywhere, why not spend time together? Agent Barton had a point, I feel.”

“Thor, no,” Loki looked exasperated. “I am NOT going to talk about feelings, and there will be no hair braiding happening.”

Thor fell silent for a moment. He remembered a time they had talked about feelings: when they were little and Loki had had nightmares, or after their first real battle; the first time Thor had been dumped by a girl. Over the centuries, those times had become fewer as Loki had closed up more and more, and Thor had learned to redirect his emotions to other things. He had still talked to mother occasionally, and he knew Loki had gone to her often – what they had talked about, he didn’t know.

Thor watched his brother and thought about the magic Odin had taken from him. Thor had been present, and it had not been a pleasant sight. Mother had cried openly, a sorcerer herself – he could still hear Loki’s screams. She alone understood that aspect of him, and no matter how hard Thor tried, he could never comprehend it. He didn’t understand how father was able to pull away some magic, but not all of it, and how he knew how to leave just the right amount so that Loki couldn’t escape. Thor had no idea how any of it worked – wasn’t sure how his own worth had been measured when he had been banished, and who had measured it; he didn’t know how Loki’s would be judged. Perhaps the Lori Scheme would help in that regard. But it felt so… wrong.

“Do you think it’s right to fool Tony Stark like this?” Thor asked, then, and clearly took Loki by surprise. He stopped his pacing and stared at him. Then he laughed mirthlessly.

“ _ Right _ _?”_ he scoffed. “I don’t care about the morals you so dearly hold onto, and what does it matter to me? I only do what’s demanded of me. This organization is ruthless, and you know it. If you cannot accept it, then by all means, leave. I’ll personally pack your bags.”

“You don’t think it’s cruel?” Thor insisted, fidgeting with the cube. “He would feel betrayed if he knew.”

“Don’t you find it amusing?” Loki smirked. “We used to do this all the time, if you remember.”

“But we were children,” Thor replied; his heart skipped when he heard Loki talk about their past, but refused to let it derail the conversation. “It was harmless…”

Loki shrugged. “I don’t see the harm here. If he’s stupid enough to fall for this, he has it coming. Besides, Lori will leave him eventually. Haven't you heard of his reputation? I heard he has a new woman every week – he can hardly feel hurt if one uses  _ him _ from time to time.”

“He does not!” Thor exclaimed, but doubt crept into his heart. “Who told you this?”

Loki shrugged again and resumed his pacing. “Rumors. I keep my ears open.”

“He’s with Lady Pepper,” Thor countered. “Or… was. I’m sure he didn’t treat her so badly as to bed others at the same time.”

“But who knows why their relationship ended,” Loki grinned. Thor fumed.

“Do _not_ speak ill of him! He’s a good friend and a colleague.”

“Yes, and you sure treat your  _ good friends  _ well,” Loki scoffed and fell silent again, resuming pacing and not looking at his brother.

Thor stared at him grimly, Loki’s words stabbing at his conscience. He breathed in and out; he wouldn’t rise to the bait, not this time. They were working for the greater good, or so he kept telling himself; he knew Loki was in an especially venomous mood. He let out a heavy breath and watched his brother. Loki had always had and edge to him, but ever since the New York incident, his mind seemed to have warped. Thor tried his hardest to look at everything in a positive light: he had his brother back, Loki was going to redeem himself, and something good would come out of this. 

Still, even Thor’s thoughts turned dark and sour from time to time. After New York, he had been happy, angry, and heartbroken all at once; the brother he thought he’d regained had returned with spite, anger, and odd megalomania. He had refused to talk when asked, and spewed venom when Thor had tried to offer a compromise. Odin had not been kind, and Thor assumed it was only for Frigga’s sake that he had given Loki another chance. Loki had shown no kindness or respect towards him, and he had not been allowed to speak to mother in private.

Thor hadn’t known which side to take for the longest time. His friends had been openly hostile to Loki, father had been intent on punishing him, and only mother had seemed to believe there was still something good in Loki. After talking with her at length, he had finally come to the conclusion that he would try to give Loki a chance, despite of everything. Mother had confessed to Thor that there had to be so much that Loki wasn’t telling them – she had said she knew her son, and the difference in his behavior between what had happened before his disappearance and his return, was too stark to not be suspicious. She had pleaded with Thor to ask Loki about it, since Odin wasn’t letting her speak with Loki herself. 

And Thor had tried. After deciding to help Loki redeem himself, no matter the cost, he had tried so hard. Loki wouldn’t answer any of his questions, and refused to speak about the past completely – unless it was about something Thor had done wrong; Loki had honed guilt-tripping Thor into an artform. It was miraculous how well Loki managed to spin his own wrongdoings to seem like it had all been Thor’s fault.

Thor sighed and laid down on the bed, tired of watching his brother pace to and fro. He had no idea whether it was even possible for him to get his brother back the way he used to be –  _ people change _ , father had told him coldly, once, when Thor had tried to relay mother’s suspicions to him.  _ This is the path Loki has chosen. _ Thor frowned at the ceiling. Of course people change, but Loki had changed so very much. Maybe he couldn’t get his old brother back, but he wanted to try. There was a hard shell around Loki, and so far Thor had not figured out a way to break it. 

“What happened in the void, Loki?” Thor asked quietly, and Loki halted his pacing at once. Thor was still staring at the ceiling, but he could feel Loki’s eyes boring into him. The room had never been this silent.

The silence dragged on. Thor refused to look at Loki, who apparently refused to answer. After a while he sat down on the other side of the room, and they didn’t speak a word until Coulson knocked on the door to let them know Captain Rogers had left the premises. Loki all but shoved Thor out of the room.

Thor was left in the hallway with Coulson, who raised his brows ever so slightly at him. Thor gave him a half-hearted shrug before leaving the man standing there.


	6. The Dance

Weeks passed, and _ Operation Lori _ was still in full motion. Mercifully for Loki, Fury had decided to take a little break from Stark and Lori’s dates; they needed to revise their plans and make sure there were no inconsistencies or holes in the story they had fabricated. Taking a break was relatively easy – they just told Stark Lori had business in London for a week or two. Taking a break was a risk, but the pressure was building and Fury felt that they needed time to reflect and revise. Loki had told - when sternly asked - that two weeks wasn’t long enough for Stark to forget about Lori, or his infatuation with her, but that he wasn’t going to promise anything.

While they didn’t send Loki on the field for a fortnight, they didn’t stop working on the plan. The SHIELD team was constantly in contact with Stark’s people, and messages and emails were flying between the two parties. Fury made sure Loki made a few monitored calls to Stark every few days so that Stark wouldn’t forget about her. Loki always did it begrudgingly, although he took less convincing than Fury would’ve assumed. In fact, Loki didn’t even have to be told to flirt and talk about nonsense; he did it automatically. Either he was really getting into the role, or trying to work with them. Fury suspected the former. 

During his downtime, Loki was made to revise the story they’d spun so far to avoid inconsistencies (pointless, Loki claimed, as he never lost track of his lies), and study Stark. The latter task was far more interesting to him, and he devoured every bit of information SHIELD gave him. He hounded Thor for more details, and while Thor was pleased that his brother sought his company, he was a bit upset that it was only so that they could talk about Stark.

Fury reminded Loki that even though SHIELD’s database on Stark was vast, some of that information was not publicly known. It was therefore important for Loki to separate classified information from official statements and rumors, because even a single slip might cause suspicion. It didn’t take long for Loki to actually write up a chart with the secret stuff on one side, and the public info and gossip on the other. Fury might have been pleased had Loki not done it in such a condescending fashion.

The SHIELD team updated information on  _ Endless Fashion _ and began working on prototype clothing models, in case Stark would want to physically see them. They were determined to drag the whole process on as long as they could, since they really had no time or resources to actually produce a full line of clothing. 

_ Endless Fashion _ was well on its way to moving towards clothing which required a bit more than just industrial looms and flimsy fabrics. Fury was set to launch part two of the operation after the little break – the part which would require better and more innovative tech from Stark. Fury knew the man wouldn’t sell anything cheap or easy, so they had to be damn sure their plot was bulletproof and Lori mesmerizing. Fury was getting slightly impatient with how long the whole thing was taking - they needed the tech as soon as possible. He was also painfully aware that if they rushed, it might all come crumbling down.

One day, Steve Rogers dropped by to get briefed by Fury, Romanoff, and Barton on the rising threat that seemed to be Dr Doom. Loki and Thor were once more ushered out of sight - everyone seemed to think that it was better to not say a word about the two of them to the good Captain. It would just lead into questions nobody wanted to answer; no one who knew about  _ Operation Lori _ thought the Captain would react well to such a blatant case of deception. Since Rogers wasn’t a necessary part of the operation, he was kept out of it. Thor didn’t like it. Not only did he want to see the Captain again, but knowing he would disapprove of  _ Operation Lori _ made the whole ordeal taste even more sour. Steve Rogers was a measure of morality, and  _ Operation Lori _ would apparently fail the test gloriously. Thor had rarely felt so conflicted.

Loki didn’t particularly care.

After two weeks had passed, Fury ordered Loki back on the job. He seemed oddly nonchalant about it, and didn’t bother to argue and moan like all the times before. Perhaps he was getting bored at the base, and was ready to get on the field again.

 

Tony swore under his breath and took the dirty rag Dum-E was offering him. He used it to absorb the blood now flowing out of his thumb.  _ A stupid, careless mistake… well, blood is a renewable resource. Note to self, examine the capabilities of blood as fuel. Scratch that, sounds a bit too villain-y. _ He went over to a set of drawers to get some bandages – he had thought Pepper was being overly protective when she had insisted on having those there, but now he thanked her in his mind. Maybe she did know him better than he knew himself. It was both sweet and disturbing.

He wrapped the cloth around his thumb and finished it off with some duct-tape. That stuff had always served him well, and he definitely didn’t need errant strands of bandage getting in the way of him and his work. This was pretty delicate stuff.

Tony had been working on what he called the “magic culler” (working title, obviously; he was way better at naming things than that), and all the components needed to be excellent. He had done as much research as he had been able to, asking Jarvis to find him all footage of Thor and Loki when they had been in his tower. He had tried to isolate any weird readings they had emitted, but the problem was neither of them had really used any magic while they had been there, so there wasn’t much to go from. He knew SHIELD had Loki’s magical glow-stick somewhere in their vaults, but there was no way he could get to it now. 

He had, of course, hacked a lot of stuff from SHIELD during the past year, and with that stuff there were Thor’s medical records from a few years ago (not very helpful, mortal as he had been), video footage of Thor fighting the metal man (just video, no readings – bust), SHIELD’s own speculations on Thor’s powers (inconclusive and lazy), and a detailed record of the New York incident. The last one was the most interesting, and he had learned that SHIELD had done something right: they had analyzed the Tesseract and the scepter, of course, and Tony was using the hell out of that information, alongside his own findings on the matter at the time. But in addition, they had readings on Loki’s powers, as well. It wasn’t much, and without a practical example it was hard to decipher anything, but it seemed to him that magic was mostly energy and radiation; that much he and Bruce had deduced of the Tesseract.

And because of this, he started experimenting on something that would null the effects of those two. There were two functions he was planning to put into it: magic detection, for one, and magic countering. So far, neither worked, because of said lack of data, but he had a hunch which he followed diligently. If he could only get something to test it with and tune it to, he was sure he’d get results. Maybe not the right results at first, but  _ some _ results.

The thing he was working on was just a small-scale prototype, but he was feeling pretty good about it. He felt like he was onto something, and couldn’t wait to try it. Of course, he would eventually need actual magic to test it on, and that might be a bit of a problem considering he didn’t have any magical friends. Perhaps he could reach out to some of the people he knew were at least semi-good-guys and had magical abilities; he’d never actually spoken to any of them, but they might agree to an exchange of some sort. But that was a worry for another day, so he kept on working until Jarvis interrupted him with a message.

“Miss Doyle suggests a business meeting, sir,” Jarvis announced, and Tony jumped up with a huge grin.

“She’s back? Make it business  _ and _ casual,” he called to the AI while wiping his hands on a rag. “No way am I just gonna talk business with her after all this time.”

“Very well, sir,” Jarvis acquiesced and after a while let him know that Miss Doyle had agreed to the plan. Tony didn’t try to hide his smug grin.

“I should take her dancing,” he mused. “That a good idea, Jarv?”

“An excellent idea, sir,” Jarvis replied blandly. 

With that, it was decided, and Tony let Jarvis handle the reservations.

 

A few nights later Tony met Lori at a nice little place along the coastline. It was a really classy bar/restaurant, and exclusive enough not to be crowded all the time and to keep the more suspicious types away. Tony was, of course, someone who always had a table there. He had sometimes taken girls there, in the past, and they’d all liked it. 

Lori looked stunning again, even more so because he hadn’t seen her in a while. She was wearing a black, flowy knee-length dress which somehow made her collarbones the stars of the whole get-go. Her hair was falling in soft curls on her other shoulder, and Tony found himself staring at her neck more often than not. She gave him the most radiant smile he had ever seen when her eyes met his.

They sat down to eat in a quiet booth and talked business for a while. Tony couldn’t have cared less about what colors the clothing line should have, and gave vague suggestions which he couldn’t remember afterwards. He could only stare at Lori’s lips and sparkling eyes as she went over the plans for the new, innovative line, and gave his blessing. The plans looked fine. Pepper would probably go over them still. The music in the place was catchy and made his foot tap in rhythm, and he wanted to do anything else but go over business details.

“The music is quite loud here, I must say,” Lori commented after some time, with a strained smile.

“It’s the nature of this bar,” Tony winked at her. “You’re supposed to dance here.”

He got up and stood beside her, jamming to the tunes. She looked at him with a quirked eyebrow as he grinned at her.

“Come on, don’t leave me hanging,” he offered her his hand, and she laughed nervously.

“I’m afraid I’m not much of a dancer,” Lori smiled apologetically.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “You just gotta have fun! Come on!” he offered his hand persistently, and she finally took it with an exasperated huff of laughter. Tony led her to the dancefloor triumphantly.

She hadn’t been lying – she really wasn’t a very good dancer, technically. She barely knew any steps. Tony didn’t mind; they were having fun nevertheless. He taught her some basics, and even though she didn’t know any techniques, she was naturally fluent in her movement. She laughed, and Tony thought this was the first time he had heard her genuinely laugh because she was enjoying herself; it was music to his ears.

“Ooh, 80s tunes!” Tony exclaimed excitedly when he heard the first beats of  _ La Luna _ . “Best decade. Were you even born then? Christ, don’t answer. Let’s just dance.” Lori shook her head in amusement, clearly not sure what to say to that. Tony pulled her closer and began dancing something that might have resembled a tango, if looked at from a distance by someone who had no idea what tango was. He twirled her around and her laughter rang in his ears, and she caught on to the rhythm quickly. Soon all Tony could see were her passionate eyes and her radiant smile; all he could hear was her laughter, all he could smell was her perfume. She filled his every sense. 

The song ended and Lori was left chuckling. Tony didn’t want to stay among the people anymore, and led her onto the terrace. 

“Do you always dance like that, Tony?” she asked with a wide smile as they stood outside, looking over at the ocean illuminated by the lights from the bar. There was even a moon, and Tony saw how its light somehow reached her features and made her glow. Or maybe that was just his imagination.

“Only with a good partner,” he grinned. She smiled wide and looked at the water.

“We should work on the details of the Stark line sometime soon,” she said and kind of broke the magic Tony had weaved in his mind. “We were also thinking that perhaps we could do something more special with it. Since you are at the head of all technology everywhere, this line should be something quite different.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“More durable clothing,” Lori said, all business-like. “Or something with special qualities. Stronger fabrics, ones that dry very quickly, ones that are fireproof – without sacrificing comfort or looks.”

“So, kind of like superhero clothes?” Tony chuckled; the idea wasn’t bad at all. “There’s a market there, at least.”

“I was thinking for common people, really,” Lori smiled. “Or perhaps work wear. You could be the spokesperson for the fancy line, and through that we would be able to sell the other line, as well.”

“Interesting,” Tony nodded. “We’ll look into that. I know a friend who is always in need of sturdier clothes.”

“Wonderful,” Lori smiled. “I will plan it out and send the papers to you for approval.”

“Cool,” Tony clapped his hands. “Now that work’s out of the way, what do you wanna do?” He smiled at her with a glint in his eye he hoped she’d notice, and she merely smiled.

“It’s getting late,” Lori answered. “I should probably head back to the hotel.”

“Already? The night’s barely started, and you’ve been gone for forever.” He wiggled his brows at her, and she laughed.

“I really do not think…”

“I know a great place where they serve the best drinks,” Tony pressed on; she seemed a bit torn, and he wanted to tip the scales in his favor. “My treat. All of it. I bet you they’re gonna be the tastiest drinks you’ll ever have. It’s this skyscraper, right – obviously the view isn’t as good as from my place, but they’ve really done a lot of good work with the place. Come on. Think of it as a welcome back treat from me. What do you say?”

Lori looked hesitant, but definitely curious. There seemed to be some sort of an internal battle going on, but eventually she smiled.

“You’re a terrible influence on me, Tony,” she smiled almost mischievously. “Lead the way, then.” He offered her his arm and she took it; she removed her earring and dropped it in her bag.

“It chafes,” she shrugged at his questioning glance.

“That much?” 

“Yes. Rather unfortunate. It’s fine when I don’t wear it too much.”

“Why wear it at all?”

“It was a gift,” Lori shrugged. “It has sentimental value.”

“Right,” Tony hummed. It seemed weird to wear something that was so uncomfortable – and willingly – but who was he to judge. He led her to the car, his hand resting lightly on her silk-clad back, and soon Happy was driving them towards one of the best bars in town.

 

At the base, Fury was seething.

“You get back here RIGHT NOW!” he raged into the microphone, but it was all for nothing; Loki had removed the earpiece, and all the agents and Thor could do was listen in. At least he’d left the mike at his end on, which was probably why Romanoff tried to calm the situation down.

“He’s got a tracker on him and we can still hear what’s going on,” she said in her calm, level voice. “We’re not going to lose him.”

“I’ve got him here,” Coulson waved his tablet, where a tiny dot could be seen moving on the map.

“It’s not about losing him, it’s about disobeying orders!” Fury banged his fist on the table. Thor frowned at him from his seat.

“I don’t understand your anger, Director,” the god looked confused. “Is not the whole point of this to make a connection with Stark? Is this not what Loki’s currently doing?”

“He also needs to follow orders that are given to him!” Fury spat. “Doesn’t this count as a rule breach? I have half a mind to send him back…”

“Reconsider, Director,” Thor’s face darkened like a thunder cloud. “Loki is not doing anything dangerous or harmful. He’s merely going for a drink with friend Stark, making a good impression as you told him to. I’m sure he’ll be back presently.”

“Besides,” Romanoff shrugged, “he can’t maintain the illusion for much longer, anyway. He’ll be back in an hour or so, I bet.”

“And what if his illusion wears off before he gets here?” Fury growled through gritted teeth.

“He won’t let that happen,” Thor frowned. “Have faith.”

“In  _ him _ ?” Fury seethed. “He’s supposed to do what we ask, not  _ directly _ disobey orders!”

“Let’s see how this pans out,” Romanoff suggested, eying both Fury and Thor. Her cool demeanor pacified the situation, and Fury punched the microphone button. Soon they could hear the sounds of a bar – music, people talking, glasses clinking, Stark explaining something inane. 

For a while Fury merely fumed over the mike. Stark and Loki weren’t talking about anything special, and the Director felt this was all a giant waste of time and an incredible liability.

“ _ Anyway, how was London?” _ Stark asked over all the noise _. “All business, no play?” _

“ _ Pretty much”, _ Lori answered.  _ “Our family isn’t one for sentiments. I didn’t see them outside of board meetings.” _

_ “Yikes,”  _ Stark replied.  _ “So what did you do on your spare time?” _

_ “Oh, nothing interesting. Relaxed, I guess. Didn’t get to go out much.”  _

“You could coat a building with that bitterness,” Barton snorted, having entered the room at the right time to hand Fury his report on his latest mission. 

“Unquestionably,” Coulson replied. “She – I mean,  _ he _ …” He sighed in frustration. 

“Loki and Lori do seem like two different people,” Romanoff nodded, trying to brush off the agent’s embarrassment. “It’s sometimes hard to keep in mind they are, in fact, one and the same.”

“Not hard for you, I’m sure,” Barton grinned at her knowingly, seating himself on a table now that he was there.

“No,” she replied without batting an eye. “But I can see why it’s easy to forget the reality.”

“Loki has always been good at building characters,” Thor stated. Fury spent a moment frowning at Barton’s report, then turned his attention back to the task at hand - looking ever grimmer.

_ “… and anyway, I’ve never cared for that stuff,” _ Stark was saying when they all paid attention to the conversation again.

_ “Yet you’re so academically minded _ ,” Lori said. “ _ You’ve invented so many things. I am endlessly fascinated by science - it’s incredible what you have achieved, and continue to achieve. Anything new in the works?” _

“This ego-stroking is wild,” Barton shook his head incredulously. 

_ “Maybe. You could come over and see for yourself.” _

_ “I’m sure there’s no ulterior motive to that suggestion.” _

“ _ Never!” _ the mock-appalled tone of Stark’s voice fooled no one, least of all Thor, who started to resemble a thundercloud. Lori laughed.

_ “Perhaps I’ll come if there’s something special for me to see.” _ They could almost see the mischievous spark in Lori’s eye. Barton rolled his eyes at the obvious innuendo.

_ “Oh, I’ve got plenty for you to see,” _ Stark replied, and Thor balled his fists. They heard Lori snort before Stark continued. _ “Actually, I have been working on something pretty cool.” _

_ “Oh?” _

_ “It’s a prototype, so I’m not gonna say much _ ,” his voice got closer to Lori’s mike and took on a conspiratory tone. “ _ But it’s a device to detect and counter magic.” _

The room at the headquarters perked up at once as Fury sat up straight and stared at the equipment as if it could yield more answers. Romanoff, Barton, and Coulson were likewise interested, and Fury took up the mike again.

“Put that damn earring on, goddammit,” the Director growled into the mike, which had no effect, of course.

_ “There’s need for such a device?” _ Lori wondered.

_ “Oh, you have no idea,” _ Stark snorted.  _ “But I’m not going to talk about it here. Too crowded. Don’t want people to overhear and steal my idea, you know.” _

_ “Of course.” _

_ “Maybe I’ll tell you more another time,” _ Stark went on.  _ “Somewhere a bit more… private.” _

_ “Why, Mr Stark,” _ Lori’s voice was playful.  _ “Well, I’ll hold you onto that.” _

_ “Another drink?” _

_ “No, thank you,” _ Lori sighed. _ “I really must get going. I have an early morning.” _

With that, Lori began making an exit and soon Loki arrived back at the base, looking wearier than usual.

“Never disobey like that again,” Fury barked at him before anyone had a chance to say anything. His anger was fading rapidly, however, as the information about Stark’s prototype device was burning on all their minds.

“I got information out of him, didn’t I?” Loki replied coolly.

“You did,” Fury sucked his teeth begrudgingly. “Which is why we need to pursue this lead. If we can get Stark to work for us with this, our problems will be all but solved.”

“What do you suggest?” Romanoff looked at him sharply. 

“We need to get you in there,” Fury crossed his arms and stared at Loki. “He seemed willing to tell you all.”

“We need to be fast,” Romanoff remarked. “It needs to happen before he finishes the prototype. If he tests it in Loki’s presence and it  _ works _ …”

“Game over,” Barton huffed from the corner.

“Also, Miss Potts has started asking questions,” Coulson noted calmly. “She’s sending emails with a highly doubting tone. We need to assure her of  _ Endless Fashion _ , and prevent her from relaying her concerns to Stark. If there’s someone who can sway his mind, it’s her.”

Loki made a derisive sound which made Barton narrow his eyes at him.

“You handle it with the team,” Fury nodded to Coulson. “Loki, if you ever come across Miss Potts, be as professional and trustworthy as you can.”

“Trustworthy?” Barton barked in laughter. “Him?”

“It’s all pretense here, agent,” Coulson smiled before Fury had a chance to shoo Barton out of the room. Loki glared at them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone so much for all the feedback! It's been amazing, I hope you'll keep enjoying the story! 
> 
> Soundtrack for this chapter should probably be "La Luna" by Belinda Carlisle... :D


	7. The Universe

A few days passed, and Stark’s new invention never left Fury’s mind. They needed to act fast, but being too fast would be suspicious. However, they needed to bring the matter up with Stark again. This was exactly the sort of invention SHIELD needed. He hoped Stark wasn’t going to wait until the device was finished, because that would be a serious risk to Operation Lori. 

Luckily, Fury didn’t need to worry about the matter for long, or about the next meeting between Stark and Lori; all it took was a flirty message from Lori with no mention of the device, and Stark was already scheduling a meeting. He told Lori to come by his tower that Saturday evening, as he wanted to show her something and because he had something special in mind.

Loki looked mildly disturbed at the plan, and Thor’s eyes shifted between him and Fury when they had all read Stark’s text. 

“What does he mean?” Thor frowned.

“Everything and nothing,” Fury dismissed the god’s obvious suspicion. “Hopefully, it’s about that new invention. We’ll go with the flow.”

Loki and Thor glanced at each other warily.

“We need to be careful about this,” Fury went on, rubbing his chin. “We need to take Jarvis into account. I know your illusion is camera-proof, but who knows what other security measures Stark has taken.”

“So what do we do?” Thor frowned.

“Make it quick,” Fury replied. “Don’t stay there a moment longer than necessary. If Stark starts acting strange, get out of there.”

Loki nodded. After a moment of silence, he spoke again.

“What if his device is finished, and works?” He sounded aloof and disinterested, but clearly masked a serious concern underneath.

“You get out of there immediately,” Fury replied coolly. “We’ll phone you for an ‘emergency.’ Fake nausea, if you must. Anything.”

Loki nodded.

“And… what if it’s not the device he wants to show Lori? What if that something special is… something… different?” Thor’s question made them all stand in silence for a moment.

“Go with the flow,” Fury answered, and Thor looked appalled.

 

Tony was practically excited. He had planned the best date, he thought – it was going to be awesome. He’d asked Lori to come over, and while he hoped she’d like to stay for the whole night, he’d actually figured out a place to take her to. He was going to drive, so it only made sense that she came over first. And he had decided to tell her more about his device, as she had seemed genuinely curious. He had no idea what spur of madness had made him tell her about it. It was incredibly unlike him, telling someone about his half-finished inventions. Something about her had just made him spit it out, she’d seemed actually interested. It was stupid, he was well aware of it – risky and stupid.

Not that he’d made any great progress with the device. He would need someone to test it on pretty soon if he was going to get it to work, and he’d been examining his options half-heartedly. So far his best call would probably be a guy called Dr. Strange, whom he had never met or talked to before, but he seemed like a reasonable enough choice. He might lend some of his time and magic for a good cause.

At six o’clock Jarvis announced Lori had arrived, and Tony smoothed back his hair (why, he had no idea; it made no difference at all) and greeted her warmly in his penthouse. She looked amazing, as usual, and he wanted nothing more than to get her stay there the whole night. If he had been sure she was easier, he might have forgone the date-thing, but as she was technically a business partner, he begrudgingly proceeded as planned.

“You look pleased,” Lori smiled at him.

“Who wouldn’t when seeing you?” Tony grinned and winked at her; he was glad she laughed, because it had been a terrible line. 

“I must say, I was surprised for your invitation,” Lori sat down elegantly and he followed her to the sofa. 

“Well, you did say you’d come if I had something to show you,” Tony’s smile spread slowly on his face. He tried his hardest not to turn it lewd. Her eyes sparkled as she met his gaze.

“And do you?” she asked in a low voice which sent shivers down his spine.

“Do I ever,” he replied in a murmur, and tore his eyes away from her as she suddenly got up and walked to the windows smoothly. “I mean, yeah. Yeah I do. I promised to tell you about my thing.”

She cocked a brow and the corner of her mouth twitched upwards.

He rolled his eyes. “Get your mind out of the gutter,” he scoffed mock-offended. 

“The magic-countering device?” Lori said, all traces of innuendo disappearing from her demeanor. “Could it be used in the Stark Line?”

She was onto business so fast it gave Tony whiplash.

“Maybe,” Tony replied. “But it needs more work still. More importantly, I need someone to test it on. Once that hurdle is cleared, I can start thinking about applying the thing.” _ Stop revealing so much to her, you dumbass _ , he screamed at himself.

“Where is it? Can I see it?” Lori asked, and Tony looked at her long. He did not like the idea of taking her to the workshop. No one was allowed in the workshop. Except Pepper, because he trusted her fully and because there was no keeping her away from there, since she was in cahoots with Jarvis. That had been a joy to discover. Damn treacherous AI.  _ For your own good _ , they both had told him. Well, he didn’t really mind anymore. She never bothered him and it was good to know that someone was allowed in if something were to happen to him.

But Lori? He liked her a lot, but didn’t trust her even nearly as much. For all he knew, she could just be thinking about her business, and if she got her hands on his designs without his knowledge…

“It’s taking you so long to reply that I’m assuming the answer is ‘no’,” Lori smiled, and Tony opened his mouth stupidly before smiling at her apologetically.

“Uh, no,” Tony forced a smile. “I’ll just go get it. You just wait here. Jarvis will keep you company.”

“Jarvis?” Lori said as Tony was backing out of the room. He just had time to hear Jarvis greet Lori before the elevator doors mercifully sealed behind him. He had no idea why he was so nervous – Lori wasn’t going to see his workshop, and there was nothing she could gain from seeing the device, anyway. She wasn’t there to steal his stuff. Yet something gnawed at his nerves and made him regret ever promising to show her the thing. He’d thought he trusted her, but now… 

Tony barely registered the walk to the workshop. He was conflicted as he picked the device up and held it in his hands. He stared at it as if it could give him answers – any answers. He tried to ration with himself: Lori wouldn’t understand anything about the device, she wasn’t going to take pictures, and Jarvis was watching all the time.

“Jarv?” Tony swallowed. 

“Sir?”

“What is Lori doing?”

“Sitting on the sofa, sir. I believe she was disturbed by me, and seems reluctant to speak to me.”

“But she isn’t doing anything… weird?”

“Not by my standards, sir.”

“Your standards?” Tony quirked a brow.

“She is sitting and glancing around the room. I think she is trying to locate me. Would you like a live feed, sir?”

“No, it’s fine,” Tony took a deep breath. “Just… keep an eye on her. Record us when I get back up. Just in case.”

“Very well, sir. Shall I record heat signatures as well?”

“No, that’s probably not necessary,” Tony chewed his lip. “I already know she’s hot, eh?” His joke fell flat even to himself, but Jarvis was eternally patient.

“Indeed, sir.”

With the assurance that Jarvis had his back, Tony returned to Lori with the device. She smiled sweetly, and Tony tried to make his own smile as natural as possible. He sat down next to her and she looked at the cubular thing in his hands.

“Is that it?” she asked. He nodded. “It’s so small.”

“Hey, size doesn’t matter if it works,” he grinned, trying to regain his confidence and shake off the weird, foreboding feeling. 

“And does it work?” Suddenly she looked a bit nervous. Her eyes were glued on the device, and she was squeezing her hands together, hard.

“Well… no,” Tony shrugged. “Haven’t got the chance to test it with magic. But I’m working on it. It’s just a matter of time.”

She seemed to relax, and nodded with a smile. Tony was oddly relieved when she didn’t make an attempt to touch the device, or even examine it closer. He sighed internally in relief; of course she didn’t know anything about it.

“You’ll get it working soon,” she assured. “Will you tell me when you do?”

“Of course,” he replied, but wasn’t at all sure about that. He decided it was time to move on – he had a terrible urge to put the device away, somewhere where she could not see it. The hairs at the back of his neck bristled as he watched her eyeing at the device, and he had no idea why.

“You know, I have something else to show you,” he grinned at her, forcibly shaking off the weird feeling, and she raised her brows quizzically.

“Really? I’m all eyes,” her smile turned sultry.

“For that, we need to take a ride,” he replied.

 

The sky was full of stars outside the city. Tony had broken a good few speedlimits on their way there, but he figured it was worth it. Lori had stared in surprise as he had dug out a blanket and a picnic basket from the trunk once they’d stopped at a quiet spot by a lake in Harriman State Park. Once he’d set out the blanket and killed the lights of the car, Lori looked up in awe at the clear night sky above. Tony stared at her as she stared at the stars, both above in the sky and reflected on the still surface of the lake.

“It’s beautiful,” Lori breathed. Tony sat down and poured her a glass of champagne. She took it with a smile he could barely see in the dark, and felt both victorious and a bit disgusted – this was so romantic and sappy he was afraid his teeth were going to melt from all the sweetness. Still, her reaction was worth it.

Lori sipped her drink thoughtfully as Tony settled on the blanket to more comfortably see the stars.

“This was a lovely idea, Tony,” Lori stared up at the starlit night sky as well. “One barely sees the stars in the city. The lights are rather overwhelming.”

“Yeah,” Tony hummed and watched as she craned her neck to see better. “Do you know any constellations?”

There was a pause, and then Lori smiled. 

“I’m fascinated by them, but I don’t know much,” she replied.

“The universe is pretty interesting, though,” Tony said and leaned back a bit. “We know there’s so much stuff up there, and no real way of contacting any of it. Whole worlds somewhere out there. You ever heard of Thor?”

“Yes,” Lori replied slowly. “I’ve seen footage on television.”

“Yah,” Tony said. “Anyway, he’s from a place that’s kind of right there, but not really.” He motioned towards the sky. “It makes no sense. It’s like a… different dimension or something. Or hidden from view? Another planet? I don’t know. Point is, it’s there. And we never knew before he came here! And there’s other stuff out there, as well…” he fell silent. The memory of the vast nothingness that had greeted him beyond the Chitauri portal came back to him, and he didn’t want to think about it. He knew they were still out there, somewhere. It wasn’t a nice thought.

“That’s why I want to develop something to nullify magic,” he continued. “Who knows what else is out there. What powers they have. I gotta do something.”

Lori nodded.

“I should probably try to contact Thor for my experiments,” Tony muttered, almost to himself. “He’s probably using some kind of magic.”

“ _ Can _ you contact him?”

“I don’t really know,” Tony frowned. “I’ve never really had to. Not sure how to go about it. It’s just that I kind of know him, so he’d be the easiest test subject. Ah well, he’s not the only one…”

“I wish I knew how to help you.” Her hands twitched nervously, as if she wanted to say something but decided against it.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bore you,” Tony looked at her softly. She smiled back at him.

“You do not bore me,” her voice as inexplicably soft. “Quite the contrary. You’re much more interesting than I would’ve expected, and in the strangest ways.”

Tony stared. He wasn’t sure if that had been a compliment, but it had sounded like one. “Thank you?”

Lori merely smiled so that her eyes sparkled brighter than the stars, and returned her gaze to the sky. They sat in comfortable silence after that, watching the stars, and to his surprise Tony realized he couldn’t have asked for anything better.

“Thank you, Tony,” Lori said after a while. Tony raised his brows questioningly.

“For what?”

“For all this,” she smiled. “You’ve treated me so well. It’s… refreshing.”

“Well, the pleasure’s been all mine,” Tony winked at her, a bit taken aback by this sudden compliment. She smiled, and continued watching the stars with a content sigh.

When Tony dropped her off at The Plaza a few hours later, she kissed his cheek slowly as a goodbye. Her perfume almost floored him, and the look she gave him afterwards sent him reeling. He went home, head buzzing, and lay on the bed for a long time, just thinking.

 

From that point on, Operation Lori fell into a routine. Weeks passed, and Fury would send Lori out with Stark at least once a week, more if possible. SHIELD was constantly working on the background scheme for  _ Endless Fashion _ , and their hardest job was to deal with Miss Potts – they could not slack with her, as she would see right through them.

Overall, things were going oddly well. Stark was always up for seeing Lori, and even Loki was less miffed about it than before. It was all well and good, since SHIELD was steadily approaching the moment when they would need very specific equipment from Stark; if they played their cards right, they’d have it within a month or two.

They briefly wondered if they could send Thor out, as well, so that Stark could test his device on him. Loki, however, was quite adamantly against it and said that Thor’s magic, whatever was in him, wasn’t nearly as potent as true magic was. Thor tried to argue, but in the end caved under his brother’s arguments. Fury put that particular plan on hold for now; they wanted Stark to get the device working so that they could utilize it, but if he got it working too soon, Operation Lori would be bust.

Fury didn’t dare feel too confident in the next stage of the Operation, either – there were too many variables, Loki being 90% of them. He had become far less abrasive over the weeks, and didn’t clash with Thor that much anymore. The brothers were even able to have short conversations which didn’t end in insults.

Fury found it extremely suspicious.


	8. The Crises

One evening Thor asked Loki to spar with him. Their training sessions hadn’t gone great in the past, what with both of them being kind of high-strung, and Loki especially seeking out a reason to lash out. Lately, though, Thor thought there had been improvement, and he took his chance.

It didn’t go terribly. They had a routine from way back in their days of youth, and it was pleasingly easy to fall back into. Thor loved it whole-heartedly, and even Loki seemed to find joy in it - or at least in mocking Thor’s deteriorated skills. 

“Some would call the change in my style  _ growth _ , Loki,” Thor huffed good-naturedly.

“Yes, but then again,  _ some  _ just lack intelligence,” Loki shrugged. Thor snorted. He sat down on the floor when they stopped. “I’ve missed this,” he hummed as Loki flopped down nearby.

“Hmm,” was all Loki said, not even looking at Thor - but not sounding displeased.

“I want you to know,” Thor continued, determined to say what needed to be said, fixing his eyes on his brother, who stubbornly refused to meet his gaze, “that I’m sorry.”

Loki couldn’t resist the temptation anymore, and turned his eyes on Thor, a frown clouding his face.

“For what?”

“Everything?” Thor shrugged sheepishly. “I never meant anything bad, but… thinking back to our past… I haven’t been the most observant person. I was so full of myself.” He grimaced. “I like to think I’ve grown. Still, I’ve done things that were ignorant. And I’m truly sorry,” he held his brother’s gaze with such honest emotion that Loki didn’t dare to look away, “that I never realised how you felt.”

Loki stared at him without a word. Thor could only wait for his reaction; if ever he had held out an olive branch, it was now. There was a lot going on behind Loki’s eyes, and for a moment Thor thought another fight was coming, but in the end, Loki merely hummed and turned his eyes away.

“I’m not going to deny anything you said,” Loki mused. “You were an ass. You still are. But I suppose…” he glanced at Thor awkwardly. “I suppose I don’t come out clean in all this, either.”

_ You sure don’t,  _ Thor thought to himself, but his heart swelled with love. This was as close to an apology as he’d get. He smiled. “What’s done is done. Start over?” He actually held out his hand to Loki, who quirked a brow before reaching to shake it.

“You’ve adopted Midgardian habits too well,” Loki scoffed. Thor laughed. 

“It’s not a bad place. I like the people.”

“Hm, I don’t mind some of them, either,” Loki smiled to himself. Thor watched him for a moment, and had the sinking feeling that when Operation Lori was over, nobody would come out of it unscathed.

 

Tony Stark had decided that he wasn’t very good at people stuff.  _ Real _ people stuff. He knew more than well how to get a random person into his bed – hell, most times all he needed to do was look their way – and how to ‘play the field’, but the real,  _ real _ stuff? Hard as hell. Pepper had once said it had something to do with his childhood; he had difficulties with feelings and stuff because he’d grown up lacking certain aspects of a normal parental relationship. Tony had made a joke about making it up with other kinds of relationships ever since he had hit puberty, but that hadn’t gone down too well. Pepper had said that that was exactly the problem.

Pepper had insisted that everything about his emotional life and past affected his actions and the present, that he was subconsciously doing things that were harmful. That he just didn’t know how to deal with deeper emotions. He had reminded her that he was in love with her, and she had asked him to name one other person he had ever felt that way for before. 

So what if Pepper had been the only one? She’d proven to be more than worth it, she’d stood by him all those years, she’d understood him like no other. She’d even tried to be his therapist, subtly, and she was the only person in the world he would allow to talk about his flaws. And yet it hadn’t worked.

Tony knew he could’ve just ended the Iron Man thing, and that would’ve solved half of it. Or at least bought them time. Pepper was so important to him, and yet he hadn’t been able to let go of his suit. Usually he chose not to think about it, but every now and then it struck him that he had chosen a lifeless suit over her deserving heart. And why? He didn’t have an answer. He had considered giving up being Iron Man, in the dark of the night after their break-up, but in the end… it had felt too painful. He was Iron Man, and Iron Man was him; it had become a part of his identity, and he couldn’t imagine life anymore without being able to work on his suits, wear them, and make a difference in the world. Pepper understood, he knew she did, but it was too much for her to bear. 

And now there was Lori. Tony hoped to any heaven or hell listening that somebody would give him answers on that particular issue. He hadn’t dared to ask Pepper after that one time, and he wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing it, anyway. Lori was driving him crazy. She was gorgeous, fun, intelligent, and she seemed to have a lot in common with him; their experiences were similar and they seemed to view life in the same way. But she was a mystery, and something about her kept giving him the warning signal. He’d briefly looked her up online, and she seemed to be what she said she was. He didn’t dig too deep. She both fascinated and scared him endlessly, and yet he couldn’t stay away. Sometimes he thought he was fine with the way things were (nothing real or serious, so no chance of getting burned), but then other times he wished he could just hop into bed with her and never leave. 

Lori was quite something. The way she behaved was so perfect that it seemed false, and yet other times so natural that she had to be sincere. Sometimes Tony felt like she was playing him for the business deals, and even when his brain told him to cut it off and go full professional, his heart and certain other parts were drawn to her like a moth to a flame. It was harmless enough, he kept telling himself. Why was he thinking about it so hard? He’d never had this much trouble with a woman before.

Maybe it was because this was the longest he had spent flirting with an attractive woman without sleeping with her. All they’d had so far was a whole lot of tormenting sexual tension – at least, that’s what he thought. Tony had noticed that sometimes she would barely touch him, almost afraid to be near him, but then other times she looked at him like she wanted to do all kinds of nasty and sexy things with him. It was weird, and confusing. Tony had no idea what to think about it all. If she wanted him, why not just go for it? One night never hurt anybody – if she didn’t want a relationship, it was fine. He wasn’t looking for one, either.

Or was he? The thought of losing Lori for good disturbed him more than he liked to think, so he refused to think about it and went to his workshop instead, spending a good day and a half there without a care in the world. He only emerged to take a walk with Lori in a park – a planned business meeting, of course.

 

“He’s laughing a lot,” Barton remarked as they were listening in on Stark and Loki’s conversation. They’d muted the transmission from their end, as they usually did these days; Stark and Lori’s meetings were mostly social at this point, with a bit of business sprinkled in between just to keep the matter topical; the  _ Endless Fashion _ team was working hard in the background, and Loki’s job was to keep Stark busy with other things. The only people who always stayed in the room, listening, were Fury and Thor; the first because he wanted to be fully informed at all times, the latter because he needed to make sure Loki wasn’t mistreated. Coulson, Barton and Romanoff came by sometimes, and during this occasion Barton was just passing through, having come to report something to Fury. Romanoff was flipping through a magazine in the corner, looking for suitable outfits for Lori to wear.

“Who, Stark?” Fury frowned.

“No,  _ Lori _ ,” Barton said. “Anyway, have fun, I’ll be off.” And with that he left the room.

“My brother does indeed laugh more than is customary for him,” Thor crinkled his brows thoughtfully.

“This isn’t strictly speaking your brother,” Fury reminded him. “This is a character he’s playing. I’m sure Stark appreciates Lori laughing at his stupid jokes.” 

“No, it’s not that…” Thor frowned. “I have spent centuries with Loki, I know his methods and his ways. He’s projecting more of his true self into Lori than he usually does.”

“I don’t know if that’s good or not,” Fury huffed sourly.

“It’s… curious,” Thor hummed. “He’s doing it more now than in the beginning.”

“That often happens with actors who play a certain role for a longer period of time,” Romanoff remarked, not even looking up from the magazine. “They find more aspects to explore and more stuff to add to the role. He’s probably just getting more comfortable playing Lori, knowing what she’s like and how she’d behave. He’s developing a persona for her. It’s not strange he’d draw things from himself or his life – that’s what fleshes out a character.”

“Perhaps it’s so,” Thor didn’t sound convinced; he stared at the equipment on the table as if trying to see into his brother’s mind through the microphone. Romanoff’s eyes snapped on the god and stayed on him for a moment, as if trying to read him.

“ _ How about you, did you have a childhood dream job?” _ they heard Stark’s voice through the transmission. Lori chuckled. Thor perked up at the question.

“ _ I wanted to be a soldier, at first _ ,” Lori’s voice said, evoking a surprised sound from Stark. “ _ My brother wanted to be one, and father was always so proud and encouraging. So I told everyone that was what I wanted, too.” _

_ “But you didn’t?” _

_ “No,” _ Lori laughed.  _ “When I realised I could never be like my brother I came up with another… job to suit my own interests.” _

_ “What was it?” _

_ “I wanted to be a magician.” _

They heard Stark laugh, but Thor looked tense.

“It’s true,” the god muttered. “It’s all true. I might not have seen it like that when we were children, but he must have…” Fury and Romanoff were now staring at him.

_ “White rabbits in top hats and the stuff?” _ Stark’s voice asked. Lori laughed.

_ “I suppose.” _

_ “You didn’t follow that career, then?” _

_ “No, it wasn’t really encouraged,”  _ Lori said.  _ “It wasn’t a real job, to my father. Mother was more supportive, but in the end…” _ There was a pause. Thor was still staring the equipment down.

_ “So you gave up?” _

_ “I never really gave up. I got so absorbed by it that it has stayed with me all my life. It’s a part of me… in a sense.” _

_ “Maybe you’ll show me a trick or two?” _

Lori laughed.

_ “I would rather not. I would rather stick to business.” _

“It’s… why would he…” Thor looked like he was trying very hard to piece something together. “He’s telling friend Stark more than he has ever told me.”

“Don’t worry,” Romanoff soothed. “He knows you’re listening. He knows you’ll know now, too.”

Thor shook his head.

“Sometimes I wonder,” his face turned glum, “whether he remembers we’re here at all.”

They listened quietly through the rest of the date, Thor frowning at the table deep in thought. Loki brought the topic back to business, and Fury gave him one or two remarks on what to say and how to react to certain aspects of industry. The conversation was drawing to a close, but when it was time for Stark and Lori to depart, they heard some rustling from their end.

_ “I actually have something for you,” _ they heard Stark say.  _ “Here.” _

_ “Tony,” _ they heard Lori’s voice.  _ “This is very kind of you, but you shouldn’t have…” _

_ “Just open it,” _ Stark said and the listeners could almost hear the smirk in his voice. Romanoff was looking at the table over her magazine as if trying to see what was happening. They heard the sounds of opening a package.

“ _ A phone?” _

_ “Yup,” _ Stark said elatedly.  _ “I noticed you had that ancient whatever brand – not to say it’s worse, but it kinda is, and I figured you might wanna upgrade. I mean, you don’t need to. But just in case. This is a Stark Phone, and if I’m gonna be wearing your clothes, you could at least use my phone.” _

Lori laughed and Thor’s frown deepened.

_ “Thank you,”  _ she said.  _ “You shouldn’t have, but thank you.” _

_ “It’s a superior phone. It’s got my number on it.” _

_ “I’ll definitely use it,” _ Lori laughed.  _ “Unfortunately I have nothing for you.” _

_ “You don’t owe me or anything. Just send me a few extra bullet-proof suit jackets when your company gets them made.” _

_ “I will personally make sure they send one of each colour.” _

_ “Awesome. Good night, then. I’ll see you later – and you can message me anytime if you need to test out your new phone!” _

_ “I just might do that,” _ Lori laughed, and the conversation ended as Stark went his own way. The room at the base was silent, because Thor seemed to be in a strange mood and neither Fury nor Romanoff wanted to touch that beehive. When Loki eventually arrived back at the headquarters and entered the room, Thor went to him immediately.

“I need to speak with you, brother,” the god said in a low voice. Loki raised his brows.

“And I’m sure you will,” he pushed Thor slowly aside as he put Lori’s bag on the table. “Was that satisfactory for today, Director?” he asked too courteously to actually be courteous.

“Yes, it was,” Fury acquiesced. “You can go. We’ll send you the details of the next meeting once we know better.” Loki nodded and swept out of the room, leaving Thor staring after him. Romanoff picked up the purse and rummaged through it; then she looked at Fury.

“He kept the Stark Phone, sir,” she said. Fury’s brows shot up high. 

“Did he now,” the Director pursed his lips. “We’ll have to ask it back, then. Thor, if you’re itching to talk to him anyway, go get the phone while you’re at it.” Thor nodded curtly and almost flew out of the room.

Thor burst into Loki’s room without any ceremony. Loki looked annoyed at this and grumbled about not having any privacy.

“The Director wants the Stark Phone,” Thor blurted out.

“Well, he shall not have it,” Loki crossed his arms over his chest and sat on his bed. “It has nothing to do with the technology he’s trying to get from To-  _ Stark _ , and will be of no use to him. If he wants one, he can go buy one himself; I understand they’re commercially available.”

Thor looked a bit stumped.

“I suppose you have a point,” he frowned. “But the Director asked for it. Don’t disobey a clear order, Loki. I’m sure he just wants to check it.”

Loki stared daggers at him, but in the end, took the phone from his pocket and handed it begrudgingly to Thor.

“I want it back.”

Thor promised he would return it.

An awkward silence followed as Thor merely stood there, in the middle of the room, staring Loki down.

“What is it, Thor?” Loki sighed. “Say what you came here to say.”

“It’s about Lori,” Thor said. “I notice you are… very open about yourself when you are her.”

“So?” Loki looked away. “I’m doing what I’m asked to do, surely.”

“Yes,” Thor fidgeted. “But I cannot help but wonder if you’re being  _ too _ open with him.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I cannot always tell where she ends and you begin,” Thor said grimly. Loki stared at him and narrowed his eyes.

“Your failure at perception does not concern me,” Loki sneered coolly. 

“Just remember, brother,” Thor sighed heavily as he opened the door to go, “that it’s not  _ you _ he’s fond of.” Thor had just managed to shut the door behind him when Loki’s fist made contact with it.

 

Loki’s new phone was practically picked apart by the tech team immediately after Fury got his hands on it. They had to make sure it wasn’t bugged, that there was not tracking device or signal installed, and that Stark had no way of monitoring the phone’s whereabouts. The phone turned out bug-free, but they couldn’t be sure it was absolutely risk-free for Loki to use. Thus, they did not give it back to Loki – not directly; it was kept in a monitored room, and Loki was free to use it there. Several cameras were constantly rolling, microphones were recording. Whatever Loki did, there would always be evidence. As assumed, Loki was extremely displeased at this and usually only used the phone when told to.

 

The next meeting between Stark and Lori was scheduled a few days later. It was nothing major; Stark was just wondering if Lori had time to have a quick dinner with him in a small restaurant he happened to like. The notice was short, but once again Fury said they should take every opportunity.

 

Tony led Lori into the restaurant, which was located in a rather distant part of town. Normally he would’ve hesitated taking her there, as the neighborhood wasn’t the best and you couldn’t get near it by car, but it was still early in the evening and they were just quickly going to grab dinner. 

“You look lovely,” he smiled as they sat down and got their menus.

“Thank you,” Lori replied and smiled back. “How was your day?”

“Same old, same old,” Tony shrugged. It had been a really boring day, and he needed something fun. “Yours?”

“The same old,” Lori replied with a spark in her eye. Tony grinned. 

“Well, let’s at least have a delicious dinner, then.”

And they did. The food was simple and good, just as Tony remembered it being, and Lori seemed to appreciate it, as well. They ate and chatted, and had a good time. By the time they left the restaurant, Tony had almost forgotten why he’d thought his day had been dull. It was pretty great now. He walked her towards a busier street so that she could get a taxi; he had offered to drive her back, but she had said she’d rather let him go relax and that she’d see herself back. 

“... not like I often do, but whatever,” Tony was just explaining to her; she had wondered if he ever had the urge to just go about his day in his suit to save travel time between meetings and the like. His train of thought was cut off, however, when he noticed two shady-looking men enter the street from a dark alley and start following them. He tried to hurry Lori on, but their path was cut by three more men appearing before them. Tony had his hand on Lori’s back as they had no choice but to stop. She was so tense he could practically feel her every muscle under her silk shirt.

“If this isn’t the jackpot,” one of the men grinned, eyeing Tony up and down. He didn’t know if these guys had recognized him, or if they were there because everything about himself and Lori just screamed wealth. They certainly weren’t after directions, the way they loomed and glowered. Tony didn’t like the idea of being mugged, and every pore in his body told him to attack both verbally and physically. This time, however, he had Lori with him. They were overpowered and he didn’t want to risk her getting hurt.

He tried to subtly reach for his wristband to call for his suit, but Lori kept unwittingly preventing him by holding his hand. Tony’s mind was buzzing. If he managed to call for the suit, would it make it in time? It wasn’t quite next door. What if the signal failed? If only Lori would let go for a few seconds… he had to play time.

“What do you want?” Tony asked as Lori pulled him closer to a nearby wall so that their backs weren’t vulnerable. This, unfortunately, meant that they were quite literally backed against a wall. He glanced both ways, but there was nobody else in sight. Where was the NYPD when you needed it?

The thug shrugged. “All you’ve got. Just hand it over.” He nudged his head towards Tony’s watch and Lori’s jewelry.

“Yeah, maybe another time,” Tony tried to sound aloof. “We’ve got places to be, robberies to avoid, you know, the usual.” He made to leave, but the thugs weren’t going to give up that easy. Two men reached to grab Tony’s arms, but before they could make contact, Lori had blocked their way and had one man’s wrist in her grip.

“Lori, not a good idea…” Tony hissed between his teeth as quietly as he could, watching as the man’s surprised eyes left his captured wrist and turned hostile when they met her face.

“Leave,” Lori said in a tone which Tony had never before heard from her; gone was her seductive, soft voice, replaced by a low, cold tone with a steely edge. It was really rather scary.

Once the men got over their initial surprise, they burst out in laughter. The only one not laughing so earnestly was the man whose wrist Lori was still holding. The thug who had spoken took out a gun.

“You just made this a lot worse for yourself, bitch,” he spat and aimed the gun at her; Tony wasn’t having any of this, and intercepted the man, managing to grab his arm and turn the weapon away from her.

“Run!” Tony told her when she let go of the other man’s wrist in surprise. He then realized it had all been a colossally bad idea when all the men ganged up on him. From that point on he didn’t really have a clear idea what was happening. It was all a mess of limbs and punches and pain, but even without a ton of metal around him he wasn’t a terrible fighter, and knew he could land more than a mean punch. He fought as if his life depended on it – which it probably did, he realized – and managed to knock out one guy; he hoped Lori had run for help, but he couldn’t tell. He heard a gunshot, and his insides ran cold – he couldn’t see anything in the chaos. He thought he caught a glimpse of green eyes flaring with anger at some point, but then something hit his head hard and he fell into darkness.

 

“I could’ve prevented it all,” Loki seethed back at the base; Coulson was on the phone in another room, Barton was perched on a table, watching everyone gloomily, while Romanoff was doing much the same, only with much less emotion. Thor and Loki were both standing opposite to Fury, Loki obviously angry and Thor sporting a frown equaling his more thunderous attacks. The look in Fury’s eye was nothing but steel.

“And how would you have explained it to Stark?” Fury asked in a strained voice. “It’ll be hard enough to come up with explanations as it is.”

“Surely not,” Loki said dismissively.

“You punched a guy so hard he’ll probably never wake up,” Romanoff deadpanned. Loki shrugged.

“Stark was already out by that point,” the trickster said. 

“One of them got away,” Fury glared. “What do you think he’s going to be telling his little friends?” 

“No one will believe him,” Loki snorted and crossed his arms, unintentionally mirroring Thor’s pose.

The situation since the attempted mugging had been a bit chaotic. Fury had told Loki not to intervene, but that advice had flown out of the window the moment the thugs had tried to touch Stark; after that point Fury had tried his best to rein Loki in so that he wouldn’t raise too much suspicion. That hadn’t worked either, and when Stark had been knocked out, Loki had fought the men off on his own – most of it as Lori, which must have been quite a sight to see. One man was as good as dead, three were in a hospital trying to make a recovery, and one had got off. Fury had alerted the police to the scene and instructed Loki to leave before they arrived; it would be too suspicious for Lori to be there, uninjured, but it wasn’t too big of a stretch to have the Iron Man best a few thugs on his own. Or that’s what Fury kept saying; he did have Coulson sorting things out so that every suspicion from the police force would be nipped in the bud.

Stark had been taken to the hospital, where he had been checked; he had come to in the ambulance, and apparently been so difficult that the hospital staff had let him go home after the check-up. He had made a somewhat confusing call to Lori as soon as he had been able, and ‘Lori’ had told him that she had indeed gone for help, but hadn’t been allowed in the ambulance as she wasn’t family. 

“We need to find that runaway thug,” Fury sighed, ignoring Loki’s nonchalance about whether the man would be believed or not, and looked at the two assassins. Barton nodded and left the room with Romanoff. 

“This can’t happen again,” Fury stressed, then, glaring at Loki. “You’re supposed to be  _ Lori _ , and Lori doesn’t have the strength to punch men to the grave.”

“What would you have had me do?” Loki asked with an icy tone. “Let Stark be shot, or beaten to death?”

“Loki has a point,” Thor remarked. “The men attacked first. They deserved their fate.”

“That’s not what this is about,” Fury rubbed his temple. “It’s not about who deserves what. It’s about staying undercover.”

Loki and Thor glanced at each other, not looking convinced in the slightest. Coulson came back at that moment, putting away the phone.

“The police won’t ask any more questions,” the agent said. “Stark’s been sent home, and we’ve got people making sure that the muggers are dealt with when they wake up. Or  _ if _ they do.”

“Fine,” Fury sighed. “Right, you two, go to bed. Lori has damage control to do in the morning.”


	9. The Pain

When Tony woke up, he first thought he was hungover. Something wasn’t right with that, however, and bit by bit – and with Jarvis’ kind help – he was able to recall what had happened last night. Apparently, his personal medical staff had taken care of him and his mild concussion, severe bruising, and an itsy-bitsy fractured rib, once he had been let out of the hospital. Apparently, he was fine enough. And apparently Pepper was on her way to see him.

“There is medicine on the table next to you, sir,” Jarvis assisted when Tony groaned in misery. He reached for the water and the pills and downed them all as quickly as possible. He figured Pepper wasn’t going to be happy with him, although this time barely anything was his fault. He hadn’t searched for trouble, it had found him; and although he had to admit he would’ve preferred fighting, he hadn’t initiated it. It was Lori who had – 

“Jarv,” Tony croaked. “Has Lori called or…”

“Miss Doyle left a message earlier this morning,” Jarvis said. “She hopes you are well and says she wishes to hear from you as soon as you are able.”

“At least she’s okay,” Tony sighed and sank deeper into the pillows. “I don’t exactly remember how everything went down last night…”

“I am sure Miss Doyle will be able to fill in the blanks, sir,” Jarvis assured. “Miss Potts is on her way up.”

“Right,” Tony huffed and raised himself up a bit, trying to look as good as he could, despite the hammering in his head and the stabbing pain in his left side. Maybe Pepper would be less mad if he looked fine. Or less upset. The same thing, really. She worried too much.

The door opened and Pepper’s heels clicked against the floor as she strode towards Tony, armed with the same half-worried, half-angry frown she always sported when he had done something stupid. Except this time he hadn’t done anything stupid. He’d been practically smart.

“Hi, Pep,” Tony dared a smile, and her expression mellowed out a bit.

“What have you done now?” she sighed as she sat next to him at the side of his bed.

“Hey, I’m just a poor victim,” Tony raised his palms. “I did nothing. I swear. I have witnesses.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Pepper smiled the faintest of smiles and took out a few papers from her bag. 

“Work? Really, Pep?”

“You missed a meeting this morning,” Pepper hummed casually. “Sign here and here, and it’s done.”

Tony begrudgingly did as he was told, but couldn’t help looking miffed.

“I’m not sensing much sympathy here,” he sniffed. Pepper gave him a serious look.

“Tony, you know how I feel,” she said while packing the papers away. “You know everything that crosses my mind every time you get hurt. Don’t try to fish for sympathy from me. You already know you have it.”

Tony looked away, slightly embarrassed. Of course he knew. He hadn’t meant it seriously, but apparently Pepper wasn’t in the mood for jokes. She got up and told him to take it easy, listen to Jarvis, and not do anything stupid.

“Oh, and also,” she turned back at the door. “Don’t forget the charity party next week.”

“The what now?”

“Tony,” Pepper groaned. “You know about this, I’ve told you a million times.”

“Oh, that party…” now that he thought about it, it did ring a bell. “Yeah, of course I know. Sorry. The pills,” he motioned to the bottle on the table, as if his medicine was to blame for all his lapses in memory. Pepper cocked a brow, clearly not sure if she should buy the excuse or not.

“Anyway,” she sighed. “Saturday evening, six o’clock. For  _ The NYC Rebuild Program _ . This building, you’re supposed to be present. The guests have paid a lot to come, so you better be there.”

“I will, geez,” Tony rolled his eyes. “Wait. Can I invite… a friend?”

“Yes, Tony, you can invite Miss Doyle.”

“I didn’t say it was going to be –”

“Tony, please,” Pepper rolled her eyes and left with a smile.

“I guess I should give Lori a call,” Tony mused after a moment. “I have no idea what happened to her last night, so…” He held the phone to his ear oddly nervously; he hoped he hadn’t looked like a loser fighting those guys – who he would have to find and pay a visit to later, thank you very much – or that he hadn’t drooled awkwardly when he’d been knocked out. Okay, so that might have been a stupid fear, but he really didn’t want her to think he was unable to defend himself without the suit. Hell,  _ she _ had tried to stop the thugs more than him. 

“ _ Tony?” _ Lori’s voice was soft and flowing as usual, but there was a slight worried undertone there, Tony thought.

“Heya,” he greeted airily. “How are you doing?”

_ “I’m fine, thank you. I rather think I should be asking you that question.” _

“Oh, I’m good,” Tony lied, having to close his eyes for a moment as the pounding in his head intensified for a moment. “Peachy. You’re not hurt or anything? Did you manage to get back to the hotel alright?”

_ “Yes, I’m perfectly fine,” _ Lori assured and Tony could hear the smile in her voice. 

“So, uh, I gotta ask… what the hell happened last night?”

_ “Sorry?” _

“You know, after I was out of it. The first thing I remember after that is some ambulance people.”

“ _ Oh _ ,” Lori laughed airily.  _ “Yes, well. I ran to get help the moment I was able to, and managed to find two police officers who then drove the men off. They called the ambulance, and that’s quite it. I would have come with you, of course, but the regulations…” _

“Yeah, I understand,” Tony smiled. “Thanks though. You probably saved my ass.”

“ _ Worth saving _ ,” Lori laughed, and Tony couldn’t help but join her.

“Yeah, my ass is pretty fine, if I do say so myself,” he grinned, and she chuckled. “It’s kind of anticlimactic, though.”

_ “What is?” _

“That I get K.O.’d, and then two cops just drive the guys off. I feel like some punches were in order there.”

_ “Hm, I’m inclined to agree,” _ Lori muttered thoughtfully. 

“Anyway, sorry that the dinner turned out a bit muggy. I had fun before I was hit in the head.”

_ “Me too,” _ Lori replied.  _ “I could come over later tonight, if you’re not feeling too ill.” _

“No, I’m fine,” Tony said almost eagerly. “Anytime. I’ll order food.”

_ “I will be there around six _ ,” Lori promised. “ _ Do get some rest, Tony.” _

Tony assured her he would, and she ended the call. 

“So, there  _ is _ something good about this day,” Tony grinned to the ceiling.

“Indeed, sir,” Jarvis confirmed.

 

Lori arrived precisely at six, bearing a gift basket of various treats and a few bottles of medicine. She set the basket on a small table in the penthouse when Tony got gingerly up from the bed to greet her. He tried his hardest to look cool and relaxed, but the pills he’d been taking during the day had only dulled the pain so much. He was secretly pleased to see the worried look on Lori’s face as she hurried over to him and helped him sit down on a sofa.

Not that Tony needed helping. But it was nice of her.

“Oh, Tony,” Lori sighed, and sounded so much like Pepper that Tony was thrown off for a moment. She looked at him all over, the concerned frown on her face making him feel oddly warm inside.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Tony tried to assure her. He wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth, but he was pretty sure he looked like crap. He probably felt less crap.

Lori quirked a brow at him, and he merely smiled back.

“You really gotta give me the details here,” Tony breathed. “What the hell happened last night? Spare me no detail. And don’t forget to emphasize my incredible battle prowess and heroism.”

She chuckled at this, but proceeded to fill him in. She went as far as to describe how she had seen him land a really good punch before she had fled the scene.

“Really?” Tony grinned. “Please tell me I looked amazing throughout.”

“Oh, of course,” Lori snorted. “Especially when that one man had you in a headlock.”

Tony grimaced. “You could’ve left that bit out.”

“Sorry,” her smile was soft. “You were very brave.”

“Now you sound like I was a good kid who got through his dentist’s appointment without crying,” he rolled his eyes. She quirked a brow.

“You were close to having a few teeth removed.”

“Lovely,” he chuckled, and immediately winced in pain as his ribcage protested.

“Are you alright?” Lori was all concern again.

“Yeah, it’s just a fractured rib. I’ve had worse.”

“I’m sure,” Lori hummed. “Someone in your…  _ field  _ must be used to getting injured a lot.”

“Tell me about it,” Tony snorted. “This is nothing. A few bruises and a fractured bone or two? That’s just a Tuesday.”

Lori smiled, but his joke didn’t land the way he had thought. She seemed pensive, and glanced at his chest; the glow of the Arc Reactor was shining through his white t-shirt.

“I… I have heard you’ve had a troubling past,” she looked at the cityscape, glowing in the setting sun. “I know you must have suffered far worse, saving the world, and also… before you started saving the world.” Her eyes flitted to his chest again, and she looked like she wanted to talk about it.

“Yeah,” Tony replied grimly. From the way she said it, the way she looked at him, there was no doubt what she was alluding to. She had brought up the beginning of the Iron Man. It wasn’t a subject he was happy to discuss, and broaching the matter made him uneasy. He had tried to talk about it with people before, but he’d hated the sympathy he’d gotten, after a while. It didn’t help. He didn’t need sympathy, didn’t need their sad looks and near tearful eyes; didn’t want the promises of them being there to listen. All he wanted was for someone to understand, but none of them could, of course. And here he was now, with Lori, and with the same damn thing all over again. She’d heard gossip, read trash magazines, and she somehow thought she could talk to him about it. He couldn’t even look at her. As much as he was drawn to her, this wasn’t what he wanted to talk about. Not again.

“I heard that you were –” she began, but he wasn’t going to let it happen. Suddenly he was angry.

“You know, I really don’t want to talk about it with you,” he snapped, harsher than he had intended. “No offense, but whatever. I’ve had enough people cry at me and feel sorry for me because of that, and I’m sick and tired of it. You don’t know what it’s like, so do me a favor and don’t talk about stuff you can’t understand.”

He stared out of the window in the heavy silence that fell. He could see from the corner of his eye that she was watching him, but he wasn’t going to look at her. He’d meant what he had said, and if that was reason enough for her to get insulted… well, that would suck, but he was going to stand by his words. They could either change the subject and forget about it, or part ways now and be done with it.

“No, I… I do know,” Lori said quietly after a moment, and he couldn’t help but look at her. She was looking out of the window, her fingers curling and uncurling in her lap. Tony watched her, and the expression on her face told him that she wasn’t joking around. Was she seriously trying to say…?

“What?” Tony’s reaction was less eloquent than was perhaps required, but he was still trying to wrap his head around it. Was she really saying she  _ knew _ ? From personal experience?

“I’ve told you about my father and the company, no?” Lori swallowed and glanced at him briefly; he nodded. “He is a very influential man.  _ Endless Fashion _ is not his first business, but it is his first attempt at… steering clear of trouble. He has enemies.”

“Uh-huh,” Tony said. He’d been there. The fact that Lori’s dad apparently had a shady past was something he consciously decided to ignore for now. Whether this would affect their business deals was a matter for another time.

“Some of those enemies are… ruthless,” Lori sighed, looking like she was trying very hard to find the words to tell the story. “One time they got to me.”

Tony said nothing. He realized this was one of those situations when he didn’t necessarily need to say a thing; hell, he’d been through this – he knew that it was just easier when nobody interrupted, when you could just say what you were going to say at your own pace.

“They needed me to… do something,” she continued with a frown. “These…  _ people _ wanted me to do something I didn’t really want to do. They…”

Lori looked down and smiled ruefully. “I never told anyone what they did,” she shook her head. “Nobody needed to know. I thought that if I never mentioned it, it would…”

“That if you never thought about it yourself, it would go away,” Tony stated calmly. Lori glanced at him and the briefest of smiles passed on her lips. She swept a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear.

“Perhaps. They just…” she searched for words and Tony took her hand. She jolted slightly, but let him hold it. “They take your mind and soul, and shred it to pieces until you have nothing left but your own misery and pain, and… and then they start over until you cannot bear it anymore, until you don’t know what’s the truth and what’s a lie. Until you do exactly what they want because you can see no alternative, no salvation, no hope. Until you start to believe in it all, yourself.” She spoke rapidly, as if wanting to get it out as quickly as possible – and once she had started, she couldn’t stop.

They sat together in silence. Lori’s hand was perfectly still in his as they stared at the view outside. It all rang a bell with Tony – he knew the desperation, the anguish, the need to make it stop. The hell that it was.

“You came through your experience stronger than before,” Lori glanced at him with a faint smile. “I, on the other hand?” She laughed bitterly and shook her head. “I did what they wanted. I was their puppet. They sent me to – they sent me to do what they needed done, and I did it. I betrayed everyone I knew, burned the few bridges I still had left. Do you know what the worst part was, Tony?” she asked and looked him straight in the eyes; her eyes were glimmering. Tony looked back, but didn’t answer.

“I liked it,” she turned away again. “A part of me enjoyed the sense of power I got after such a long time of being treated like… after such a long time being brought so low, I just…”

Tony held her hand between both of his own and stroked her palm with his thumb in soothing circles. He’d had no idea that she might have had anything like that in her past – but then again, it was hardly something one mentions lightly. He should know.

He looked into her eyes and a strange wave of relief washed over him. She knew. She understood. He could see in her eyes that it was true – he had seen that look staring back at him in his mirror many times before. For the rest of her visit, they merely sat there in silence, her hand still in his.

 

Back at SHIELD headquarters, the sound of metal chair legs screeching against the floor was heard as Thor got up and paced the room aimlessly, clearly needing to do something else than stay put, but with no idea what to do once he’d gotten up. Romanoff exchanged glances with Fury.

“You know he’s a liar, right?” Fury said to Thor, who wouldn’t turn to look at him.

“There is always a grain of truth in everything Loki says,” the god replied heavily. There was a weighty silence and it was just getting to a point where Romanoff and Fury felt like they needed to break it somehow, when Thor spoke again.

“I asked him what happened to him after he fell into the void,” he choked. “I asked him. We all did. All he said is he met someone he calls the Other, and that he was the one who sent him to Midgard with the army. He said the Other found him in the void. He never…” Thor sighed. “He never told us what  _ really _ happened to him. Everything we asked, he gave the shortest answers. He refused to say any more to me. I don’t know if father…” Thor’s voice trailed off and the room fell silent again. 

“I must speak with him,” Thor continued heavily. Romanoff and Fury exchanged glances. Somehow they had a feeling Loki wasn’t going to be happy about the promised heart-to-heart with his brother.

And they were right. When Loki finally did return, Thor whisked him away as soon as humanly possible. What followed was their biggest fight in a while. Their voices probably rang through half the base, and things were smashed; not important things, but either Loki or Thor’s room was probably in shambles. 

Fury didn’t care to interrupt as long as the damage was contained, and hardly bothered to listen what they were screaming about. From what he was forced to hear, it was mostly the same old, same old, until Loki threatened to teleport away. Fury had no idea if he could’ve done it or not – and anyway they had a tracker on him – but at that point he had to go yell at them to go to their rooms and shut the hell up; nobody was leaving and he’d had enough of this bullshit.

As the furious gods retreated to their respective quarters, Fury let out a frustrated breath and happened to glance at Barton, who had, at some point, slunk into the hallway. He had an amused look on his face, which he erased quickly and walked away when Fury glowered at him.

 


	10. The Party

The next morning Tony was still reeling about the night before. He felt incredibly conflicted – he’d been so ready to either fight with Lori or kiss her senseless, but they had ended up just… sitting in silence. And it hadn’t felt weird. It was the second time they’d just sat with each other without doing anything at all. Before she had left, she had assured him that her father was now an honest businessman, and that  _ Endless Fashion _ did everything by the book. Tony had assured her he didn’t doubt her word, and then had asked her to be his date at the charity party. She had accepted the invitation warmly. It had made him feel warm, too.

He shook his head and downed some painkillers. It was no wonder if he felt weird – he was constantly on drugs. Yeah. That was it.

He didn’t know what to think about Lori’s revelation. He had tried to dig up information about the whole incident after Lori had left, but there was nothing he could find aside from official data about  _ Endless Fashion _ . It really seemed like Lori’s dad had started on a clean slate, and been really good at hiding his past. Not that Tony was surprised – he probably had the resources and the connections, if his shady businesses had been successful in the past. 

Tony had wanted to delve into the matter more, but he’d been interrupted by Pepper coming over to have him sign stuff. After that, he’d suggested they order pizza, which they had done, and Pepper had wondered at his silence. He’d brushed it off by saying he was just dizzy from the meds and tired, and while he had been able to tell she hadn’t fully bought it, she hadn’t said more about it.

Tony and Pepper were slowly rebuilding their relationship - well, the platonic one. It was sometimes so awkward and difficult that Tony just wanted to give up and hide in his workshop for a year or two, but realized he needed Pepper in his life too much to do so. The worst heartache had passed, with many thanks to Lori, and Pepper’s steely professionalism; but it was weird trying to find a natural way of being with one another without it being too intimate - but yet intimate enough to stay good friends. 

Pepper, before leaving, had made sure Tony was taking his meds and not doing anything crazy; she’d scoured the room for alcohol that was in places alcohol shouldn’t be, and glared at him when she’d found a half-drunk bottle of whiskey behind his bed. Tony had sworn to her he hadn’t even known it was there, but she took it away regardless. She only left what was in the liquor cabinet, and told him he better not break any of those out while he was still on painkillers.  _ Buzzkill _ , Tony had thought, but couldn’t help being grateful that she cared so much, after everything.

And now he was once again left alone with his thoughts. Pepper had forbidden him from going to any meetings (“ _ How will I ever survive?”) _ and from going out (“ _ Pep, come on!”),  _ which Jarvis had sadly agreed on, so now he was stuck in his tower with nothing but his fractured bones. He worked on his invention, now dubbed Spellblock 1.0 (he quite liked this name, especially since the device was actually looking block-like) for quite some time, even though there was a constant ache in his ribs which couldn’t quite be dulled with medicine. He would probably have been at it until the end of time if he hadn’t gotten a call.

Tony grabbed his phone in a heartbeat, secretly hoping it was Lori – but found it was Steve Rogers calling. Or  _ Capsicle _ , as he’d saved the name in his contacts. His brows shot high. Steve hadn’t called him in… ever, really. Not since he’d given up the avenging business, at least.

“You’ve reached Tony Stark’s voicemail,” Tony answered the call in his most boring tone. “Tony Stark currently has something way more interesting to do than talk to you. Please leave a message after the signal.  _ Beep _ .”

“ _ O-oh,”  _ Steve’s voice sounded flustered. “ _ Well, uh, hi, this is Steve Rogers, can you call me later if…” _

“Wow, I didn’t know I was so good at imitating a soulless recording,” Tony interrupted him. “Really, Cap, how long have you had a phone anyway?”

“ _ Stark _ ,” came an exasperated sigh from the other end. “ _ You know I’m not good with this stuff.” _

“Makes it all the more fun for me,” Tony smirked. “Anyway. What gives me the honor of talking to a mighty Avenger?”

Steve sighed. “ _ I just wanted to see if you were home. I’m nearby and thought we could catch up _ .”

“Right,” Tony had no idea what to say to that. Steve was his least favorite – too good, too clean, too boring – not that he was the worst, or anything. And anyway, they had gotten along alright, in the end. Besides, he was pretty sure that if Cap was sent by Fury, he could tell a mile away. At the first sign of funny business, he’d be kicked out. “Okay. Come on over, Jarvis will let you in.”

“ _ That’s great _ ,” Tony could hear the smile in his voice. “ _ I’ll be there in a few minutes. See you soon _ .”

Tony hung up and stared at nothing. 

“Jarv, what’s the social conduct for this?” he asked, still holding the phone. He was suddenly at a loss.

“That would depend on the purpose of the Captain’s visit, sir,” the AI replied, unhelpfully.

“Yah, that’s kinda the problem,” Tony smiled joylessly. “Why the hell is he coming?”

In the end, Tony decided to do nothing. He sauntered back to the penthouse from the workshop, took some painkillers, and bothered to wash his hands, at least. Other than that, he decided to play it smooth and cool, as usual. Pretend he was doing great. Which he was, aside from the robbery – which the Captain didn’t need to know about.

The elevator doors opened and Steve Rogers entered, looking as buff and pure as ever. Tony hated the casual spring in his step, and tried to meet him halfway at least partly as energetically.

“Good to see you, Tony,” Steve held out his hand, but Tony pretended not to notice and instead grabbed a bottle from the cabinet.

“A drink?” he offered, and Steve shook his head in confusion.

“No, thank you. You know I don’t…”

“Yeah, it’s a great shame,” Tony hummed as he poured himself brandy. He heard Pepper’s disapproving voice in his head immediately, and wasn’t entirely sure if he should be mixing the meds with alcohol anyway, so he settled to merely holding the glass in his hand while facing the Captain. “So, what brings you here? Other than your overwhelming desire to see me, obviously.”

They were both standing in the middle of the room, and Tony knew how awkward and inhospitable it was. It didn’t matter – he wasn’t sure why Steve was there, so for the time being, he didn’t need to feel welcome. The Captain’s eyes were clearly examining his face, and the small frown on his brows told Tony that his little battle wounds hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“What’s…” Steve began, eying a welt over Tony’s eye.

“Despite not being a part of your little ensemble, I haven’t given up being awesome,” Tony interrupted him. “But enough about me, although it’s difficult to stop, I know. Again – what brings you here?”

“Uh, well,” Steve looked a bit flustered. He sat down on the sofa, unasked, but unapologetic. Tony decided to remain standing. “I just wanted to see how you were doing. We haven’t really spoken after you…”

“… ditched your posse like a dead rat? Steve, Cap-man, we didn’t really speak even when we worked together.”

“I don’t want there to be any bad blood between us.” Steve’s eyes were so damn sincere that Tony was tempted to groan in exasperation.

“Come on, you had nothing to do with it,” Tony sighed in frustration. “Shit happens, SHIELD happens, I quit, we’re all happy. End of story.”

Steve still looked uncertain and eyed Tony as if he was afraid he might keel over and die any minute, thus unable to grant him whatever resolution the Captain was after. Tony let out a sound which was part-sigh, part-groan.

“Look. I’m cool with it. We’re all cool with it, except for you, apparently. As a friendly gesture, I’m offering you a most gracious invite to a party I’m having next week. You should come. Charity stuff. Right up your alley.”

Steve’s eyes brightened slightly, and Tony hated himself for feeling a bit happy about it. The Captain was like a puppy, and it was sickening.

“I don’t want to impose…”

“For fuck’s sake, you’re coming,” Tony groaned. “Jarvis will send you the official stuff. Know that if you’re not there, I’ll be grievously insulted and will never speak to you again.”

Steve got up and shook Tony’s hand with a smile which implied that this was some sort of a grand gesture on Tony’s part, and not a half-assed apology attempt (for  _ what _ ?) with a spur-of-the-moment invitation.

“I’ll be there,” the Captain nodded in assurance, and was soon out of the building.

“I invited him to the party,” Tony said to himself after he was gone.

“You did indeed, sir,” Jarvis replied.

“Is that a good thing?”

“I am sure the Captain appreciated it very much.”

“Yeah. Great.”

Thor, after the horrible failure at talking with Loki the night before, had made a breakthrough with his brother that morning. He’d gone to see Loki, demanded he let him in, and had sat down and refused to budge until they talked. He had stayed perfectly calm; he hadn’t asked too many questions, hadn’t pushed too far. He hadn’t gotten much out of Loki, but had weathered his brother’s scathing words and attempts to push him away calmly and annoyingly maturely.

“I know what you told Tony Stark was truthful,” he had said, not caring that Loki had been glaring daggers at him the whole time. “And I know you don’t want to talk about it. It’s your right. However, I need you to know that if ever you do want to talk, I’m listening.”

Loki hadn’t looked pleased at any point, but there had been moments when Thor had thought he was close to admitting something, or confiding in him. In the end, Loki had merely sighed and shrugged.

“You heard what you heard,” Loki had said. “And you believe what you will. You’re right - I don’t want to talk about it. What difference does knowing make, anyway?”

“Loki,” Thor had huffed, exasperated. “It makes all the difference. We’re family, regardless of what you say. I want to know in order to understand you more, in order to…” he had bit his lip. Saying ‘to protect you’ would not have gone down well. “To help you, if I can.”

Loki had stared.

“You can’t,” he had scoffed. “But you don’t need to, either. I’m fine. And as far as I’m concerned, this is the last time we talk about this.”

His words had sounded final, and Thor’s mood had darkened. Then, Loki had rolled his eyes and offered him his hand.

“Get up,” he’d said. “Don’t we need to be at a meeting right about now?”

Thor had grinned at this and taken the offered hand, getting on his feet; though Loki had let go as soon as possible, Thor had felt they were getting somewhere.

 

On the day of Stark’s charity party, Thor and Loki were heading to the familiar room where every Lori-related mission began, when they saw agent Barton rounding a corner to meet them.

“What happened to you?” Loki asked, a brow coolly arched, looking down his nose at the agent. 

He was sporting a fresh black eye, and his arms were full of cuts. He was holding his bow in his hands, and it was plain to see it wasn’t completely intact. He walked kind of funny, but steeled himself the moment he saw them, clearly heading the same way as them.

Barton glared at Loki and merely opened the door to the room where Fury, Coulson, and Romanoff were already waiting. All eyes turned on him.

“Damn robots, fucking Doom,” Barton muttered as he slumped down in a chair.

“Agent Barton, why aren’t you getting yourself treated?” Fury’s brow creased.

“I’m fine,” the agent grumbled. “I just got back. Yeah, so, Doom  _ did _ have a little base in that building. It could fit a lot more of Doom's metal servants than I thought.” He grimaced at the memory.

Fury looked even more displeased than usual.

“He’s definitely trying to do something,” he mused. Then he glanced at Loki, and turned his eye back on Barton. “We’ll talk later. File your report, and get those injuries sorted out,  _ now _ . That’s an order.”

Barton dragged himself out the chair and left the room, muttering bitterly as he went.

“Is this Doom causing you more trouble?” Thor asked Fury, frowning deeply. “I will help in any way I can.”

“You don’t have to worry about it,” Fury retorted. “ _ Yet _ . Let’s focus on the matter at hand, now.”

He turned his attention on Loki.

“This is going to be a formal, high-brow event,” he stated. “And because there will be a lot of rich, influential people present, Stark is bound to have upped the security - for the protection of his guests, and himself. Anyone not on the list will obviously be turned down at the door; but I’m sure there will be metal detectors in use.”

“So?”

Fury looked at Loki’s armor, with its buckles and enforcements.

“Unless everything in your armor is gold, you better get changing.”

“Into what?” Loki frowned, displeased. 

“Something similar to Lori’s outfit,” Romanoff suggested. “Material-wise. Let’s just go for silk and velvet.” She handed Loki a bunch of black cloth, and told him to go change. Loki looked appalled, but left the room; he came back wearing a simple black button-up shirt and slacks. He looked uncomfortable without his trusty armor.

“Better,” Fury nodded. “Coulson has done a bit of research on Jarvis’ defenses. Agent?”

Coulson stepped up and opened a file. “Obviously we don’t know everything Stark has enforced his tower with,” he explained. “But we know there are cameras, heat sensors, metal detectors, audio recording, and of course, Stark can put the whole tower on lockdown if needed.”

“What we need to worry about is the heat detection,” Fury said. “Your disguise will fool visually, but your heat signature will not resemble Lori at all.”

“What can we do about it?” Thor asked. “Loki can’t shapeshift right now.”

“Exactly,” Fury looked displeased. “All we can really do is hope for the best. You’ve been there several times by now, and so far you haven’t been found out. It’s safe to assume the heat detection isn’t something that’s always on. But for a special event? Who knows.”

Romanoff fixed a curious look on Loki. “Can you alter your heat signature?” 

Loki turned his eyes on her. “Depends on what you mean.”

“Could you cast a heat-based disguise? Kind of like Lori, but with temperatures.”

“Temporarily,” Loki sucked his teeth in distaste. “But it won’t be the same as being a person with Lori’s build. I’m sure it won’t look good on your cameras.”

“But you  _ could _ ?” Romanoff’s eyes narrowed. “So that maybe you wouldn’t look like a six-foot-something man on heat cameras?”

“I wouldn’t look like a slightly shorter woman, either,” Loki scoffed. 

“You should try, anyway,” Fury stated. “Better a weird heat signature than an obvious one.”

“Fine,” Loki spat. “But that on top of the Lori glamour? It won’t be a long party.”

“Noted,” Fury nodded. “Two hours, and you’re out.”

“Same rules apply as usual,” Coulson said. “If there’s any suspicion, make up an excuse and get out.”

Loki nodded with a sigh, and cast the illusion on himself once more. It was party time.

 

Tony was stupidly excited about the party, and got ready unusually early on the day. He didn’t really know who was coming – aside from them all being rich, maybe famous, and definitely socialites. What he was happy about was that Lori was coming; he felt a bit ridiculous that he wanted to show her off to people. Introducing her to Pepper made him both eager and nervous.

Guests began trickling into the well-decorated party space a bit after six. Tony was there to greet them, and knew most of them, at least by looks. The same old faces turned up at any upper class event he ever attended. He was spared the mind-numbing small talk with everyone with the excuse of having to go greet new guests every once in a while. Waiters served plenty of drinks to appease the ones he abandoned, and the live orchestra was playing suitable fancy party tunes.

Steve arrived among the first guests, alone. Tony introduced him to a few elderly ladies, who took to him at once. Steve looked mildly uncomfortable, but smiled politely and chatted with them very fluently. Tony watched them with a grin, but soon his eyes were drawn to the door; Lori had arrived.

She looked stunning in her long, black velvet dress, her hair in immaculate waves. She looked a bit lost, eyeing the crowd, and Tony was by her side as quickly as he could muster. She smiled at him in relief.

“For a moment I thought you weren’t going to be here,” she chuckled.

“You mean to say I faded in with the crowd?” Tony clicked his tongue. “I’ve lost my touch.”

“How are you feeling?” she asked, taking his arm as he led her further into the room, drawing admiring or jealous glances. “How are your injuries?”

“I’m as good as new,” Tony lied. He was mostly healed, but things didn’t patch themselves up so quickly at his age. “Let me introduce you to a few people.”

He led her to Steve, who was mercifully rescued from the clutches of the eager ladies.

“Lori Doyle, Steve Rogers.”

Steve offered Lori a hand, which she took with an odd expression on her face. 

“Nice to meet you,” Steve beamed at her.

“Charmed,” she replied, and her smile was strangely tense.

“Lori is a business partner,” Tony explained. “Steve here is… an old colleague.” Steve gave him a sideways glance – Tony shrugged slightly.

“You used to work with Tony?” Lori asked.

“Uh, yes, yes I did” Steve replied, clearly trying to figure out what to say; he couldn’t tell the truth, and Tony reveled in his awkwardness. “We, uh, I was into… mobile phones.”

“Oh,” Lori smiled. “Not anymore, then?”

“No, well, Tony chose to follow a different path than me, and we had to part ways.” Steve looked at Tony meaningfully, and he had to groan internally. Damn Capsicle.

“Hm, such is the way of business,” Lori said silkily. “Change is inevitable.”

“Indeed,” Steve inclined his head. Tony rolled his eyes, and thankfully saw Pepper mingling nearby. He grabbed Lori’s hand. 

“Excuse us, Steve,” he said and began leading her away. “Gotta have a word with Pep. Enjoy the party!” and he left poor Steve with the thirsty ladies again, taking Lori to Pepper – who looked stunning, as well. She turned to look at him, and her brows rose as she noticed Lori. Suddenly he was very nervous.

“Pepper,” Tony cleared this throat. “This is Lori Doyle, of  _ Endless Fashion _ . Lori, this is my CEO, Pep-Virginia Potts.”

“Good to meet you,” Pepper shook hands with Lori. “I’ve heard about you.”

“Have you?” Lori raised her brows at her, and turned to Tony. “All good, I hope?”

“Of course,” Pepper smiled sweetly. “Your company has some very interesting ideas.”

“We try to think outside of the box,” Lori inclined her head. “With Stark technology, I’m sure we can rise far above the average.”

“Here’s to that,” Pepper raised her glass. “Have you been enjoying New York?”

“Very much, thank you,” Lori smiled. “Mr. Stark has been very gracious with his time.”

“I’m sure,” Pepper glanced at Tony, who didn’t quite appreciate her tone.

“Anyway,” Tony cleared his throat. “Lori, wanna dance?” The song at the time was a pretty nondescript waltz, but Tony just wanted to get out of the situation before it got too awkward.

“Well, I…”

“Good!” Tony took her to the dance floor before letting her even answer. Pepper shook her head with a slight laugh. 

Lori seemed a bit lost with the waltz, but Tony led slowly and settled to merely rotating in one place. Others noticed them and soon joined them, and Tony could sigh in relief.

“You seemed eager to dance,” Lori noted.

“Sorry about that,” Tony grimaced. “I just felt like…”

“Like avoiding her?” Lori cocked a shrewd brow.

“No!” Tony replied. “I mean, well, you know. We used to… kind of. You know.”

“I see,” Lori glanced towards Pepper, and her expression was unreadable.

 

The night went on quite smoothly. Pepper had organized the program, so everything went without a hitch and the quests were entertained; some were even inspired to donate more money to the charity in addition to the price they had paid to get to the party itself. Tony made a speech which he hadn’t rehearsed one bit, and it went pretty well, considering. They all loved him, anyway, and by that point they were all more or less tipsy. 

Tony had to leave Lori on her own for a few occasions, and noticed her talking to both Steve and Pepper, and he could’ve slammed his head on the wall. Why those two? Why the only ones who knew dirt on him, and had secrets to keep? Occasionally he had time to dance with Lori again, and every time he was lost in her charm. Whenever he could, he talked with her and avoided the others as much as he could. She was mesmerizing, and he honestly had so much fun with her – even though they were just chatting.

When Tony was done with his last responsibilities for the time being, around two hours in, he scoured the crowd for Lori. He kept getting interrupted by people sucking up to him and telling him how wonderful the party was and how kind he was for helping those in need; he shook them off as fast as possible. He really didn’t want to deal with this ass-kissing crap anymore.

He found Lori surrounded by a few older, obviously intoxicated men. From their expressions alone, Tony could tell they were being lewd, and groaned internally. Lori was quite composed, however.

“I suppose, but you could hardly keep up,” she said scathingly as Tony came close enough to hear. He took her arm and stood by her side. The men looked disgruntled by his arrival.

“Did I miss something?” he asked breezily. 

“Nothing at all,” Lori smiled to him. “There is absolutely  _ nothing _ worthwhile to see here.”

She didn’t even spare the men a glance as she turned away with Tony.

“Wanna get some air?” Tony asked, and led her to the balcony when she nodded with a sigh. The night was cool but not cold, and Lori took a deep breath as she gazed upon the city, looking kind of weary. Tony was watching her.

“Have you been having fun?” he asked her, and she laughed a little.

“I suppose,” she replied. “Aside from a few… rotten eggs.”

“Yeah,” Tony chuckled with a grimace. “Sorry about them. Guys like them turn up in every event, I swear. They didn’t say anything too bad?”

“One of them offered me a considerable sum of money if I joined him on his yacht,” Lori replied, smiling sweetly. Tony groaned.

“Sullivan, wasn’t it?” he huffed. “That guy has some nerve, I tell you.”

Lori shrugged. “It’s alright.”

“Well, I’ve been having fun, anyway,” Tony said. “Thanks to you.”

“Me?” she raised her brows.

“Yeah,  _ you _ ,” he grinned. “This would’ve been a nightmare if you hadn’t been here.”

She smiled warmly at him, and he took a deep breath. She looked so radiant and otherwordly, caught between the golden light streaming from the party and the colder, changing lights of the city. Her eyes seemed to glow green, and he didn’t know what came over him. In that moment, he needed to tell her she wasn’t just a somebody to him, not just a business partner; he was done with them dancing around the obvious attraction between them. Surely she too had seen it.

“Look, I really like your company,” Tony began. “I really like  _ you _ . I think we work, kind of, you know?”

“I’m not sure I do,” she said and her smile faltered; she looked away and suddenly seemed nervous. Tony was determined to press on, now that he’d started.

“All I’m saying is,” he put on his softest, most seductive look, “that you’re amazing. I love your sense of humor, your looks, your wit, your intelligence… the whole shebang.”

Lori looked at him and her breathing seemed a bit strained; her expression was unreadable. Tony stepped closer and put his hand on hers on the railing. Her fingers twitched under his, almost as if she wanted to pull away.

“I don’t say this a lot, believe me,” Tony said in a low voice and ran his other hand along her arm, inching closer to her face. “But I really,  _ really  _ like you.”

“I…” Lori breathed, her eyes hooded and fixed on his. Tony looked into the emerald depths of her eyes and slid his hand in her hair gently; before she had time to say a thing, he kissed her.

It was soft, tentative even; she seemed unsure, but didn’t resist, so Tony felt encouraged. After a short while she responded lightly; she was like velvet, and oddly cool. He didn’t care if anyone saw them; didn’t give a damn if gossip spread. This felt right. Tony would’ve gladly deepened the kiss if she hadn’t suddenly pulled back. She was breathing heavily and looking down, not meeting his eyes.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, lightly caressing her arms.

“Everything,” she breathed in a surprisingly low and husky voice. Tony blinked in surprise. “Everything about this is wrong.”

“Not the response I would’ve hoped, but okay,” Tony said, trying his hardest not to feel insulted or to ruin everything; this seemed like the kind of situation which could go south very quickly if he said the wrong things. He tried to reach her eyes, but she kept staring at the floor. “Look, I don’t want to pressure you or anything, or… You wanna have a drink and…?”

“No,” Lori shook her head and when she looked at him, her eyes had a peculiar, almost pained, look in them. “I should go. I have an early morning.”

That was an excuse Tony had used himself more times than he could count, and he didn’t buy it at all.

“You sure?” he asked, trying to stall. “Okay well… I’ll have my driver take you…”

“No,” she said bluntly as she removed her earring and shoved it in her bag for whatever reason. “Thank you, but I’m fine. I think I’ll walk. It’s not too far.”

“Uh, it’s not quite next door…” Tony tried to say, but she was already on her way out. He went with her, but she stopped him by the elevator doors. She gave him a small smile and wished him good night, and was gone. Tony was left standing alone, wondering what the hell had happened; he was aware some of the guests were staring and whispering. They had of course noticed that he’d spent the whole evening with Lori, and now that she suddenly left… rumors were already spreading, he could feel it.

He tried to act casual, had a drink and chatted with some people he couldn’t have cared less about, and when the chance came, he slipped away from the throng of people into a smaller side room. The fuck had just happened?

“Jarv, has Lorelei left the building?” 

“Yes, sir,” the AI answered. “She is already beyond my radar.”

“Thanks,” Tony said and sucked his teeth. Just what was going on? He could somewhat understand Lori’s odd behavior – everybody had some weird emotional baggage and there was of course the off chance she wasn’t into him at all – but things had been going so well. She had had fun, she had  _ kissed him back _ .

Tony was worried. It was late at night and The Plaza was some walk distance away, and Tony knew from experience how restless things could get out there.

“Jarvis,” he said, leaning on a wall. “On a scale of one to then, how stupid would it be to go out tracking Lori?”

“I cannot say, sir,” the AI replied. “However, I must remind you that women are seldom happy to be followed without their knowing.”

“But for her own safety?” Tony bit his lip. “Just a bit of scouting around.”

“Sir, you have a room full of people who have come to attend your party.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Tony sighed. “I’ll call her soon. I just gotta make sure she made it, at least.”

Reluctantly, he went back to the party, and was dismayed to run into Steve immediately.

“Did Miss Doyle leave already?” the Captain asked.

“Yeah, she has an early morning,” Tony replied mechanically. 

“She seemed nice,” Steve went on. “Have you two been… dating for long?”

Tony froze mid-drink and stared at him. Steve was getting flustered, and Tony could almost hear a slurry of apologies forming in his throat.

“We’re business partners, like I said,” Tony replied, and try as he might, he couldn’t erase the bitterness from his tone.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Tony,” Steve’s cheeks took on a reddish hue. “I just assumed…”

“No worries,” Tony slapped him on the back, hard. Steve didn’t even flinch. “Say, have you tasted the shrimp canapés yet? They’re over there, on the other side of the room. I can warmly recommend them.” He pushed Steve along for a bit, and disappeared into the crowd as soon as he could. He didn’t feel like talking. Especially not about how he was or wasn’t dating Lori.

 

Loki materialized in the familiar room at the base, making everyone there jolt in surprise – he had never done it before, and clearly for a reason; he swayed on the spot, looking exhausted, having to sit down at once. He leaned his elbows on the table, his head resting on his hands. He looked oddly vulnerable without his armor. Fury did not look pleased.

“Thor,” Coulson spoke to a transmitter. “You can come back. He’s here.” Thor had left to fetch Loki the moment he had exited Stark Tower and begun heading the wrong way – when the tracking dot on Coulson’s tablet had gone haywire, they had feared Loki had gone rogue.

“Now what the hell was that?” Fury asked none too kindly. Loki looked like he wanted to hit something, hard. “You can’t just do whatever you please, you’ve got a job to do!”

“My  _ job _ is not to romance your Iron Man!” Loki spat. 

“Come on,” Barton said, looking patched-up but better than before. “There are worse things. Take one for the team.”

“This is not my team!” Loki hissed. “And I grow tired of being your puppet.”

“Remember, daddy’s watching,” Barton said with a rueful smile. Loki got up and stalked towards him.

“I would keep my mouth shut if I were you,” the god growled in a low voice. “My patience is running thin, and should you wish to play mind games with me, well…” he straightened himself and towered over the archer. “I have seen your mind already. I know how inferior it is. I know your weaknesses.”

For a moment everything was frozen, but then Barton took a swing at Loki and punched him right in the face. The god was mostly uninjured, but looked like he was going to retaliate,  _ brutally _ ; Fury yelled at them to stop right at the same moment as Thor entered the room and his voice drowned out Fury’s.

“NO!” the thunderer shouted and in a blink of an eye was standing between Barton and Loki, keeping them apart. “Cease this madness!”

Barton was glaring at Loki, who was sneering at the man, his eyes flaring with hate. At Fury’s order, Barton left the room, and the situation calmed down.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Thor enquired, glaring both at Fury and his brother, who sat down again.

“Your little brother here is trying to shirk his duties, that’s what,” Fury barked.

“I’m tired of this charade!” Loki hissed venomously. “I fail to see how your idiotic plot aids you in any way, and I do NOT want to be anyone’s PUPPET again!” His voice got louder and angrier the more he spoke.

“You are what we tell you to be!” Fury shouted and slammed his fist on the table. “That was the agreement, those are the terms! If you don’t like it, go complain to daddy.” This made Loki get up again despite his obvious weariness, and the angry fire in his eyes made everyone wary.

Thor held Loki back, his large hand resting on Loki’s chest, preventing him from stepping forward as the god made a move to approach the Director. 

“Loki, control yourself,” Thor said grimly, but Loki brushed his hand aside rather violently.

“Do  _ not  _ talk to me about control!” he hissed. “You act so good and proper, but you are no better than them, and no better than me! Don’t pretend to be on  _ my _ side,  _ brother _ , when we both know you are so tight on Odin’s leash that you are choking on it!” Loki’s every word dripped hatred and venom, and something hit a nerve with Thor, who abandoned his calm demeanor and balled his fists.

“I  _ am  _ on your side!” Thor said so loudly that his voice engulfed the whole room. “You have given me every reason to oppose you, but have I not done my best to give you yet another chance, yet another day to prove yourself? There’s no one but yourself you can blame for your own predicament!”

“I can think of a few others,” Loki retorted savagely. “All my life I have been lied to, I’ve been mocked, belittled, and betrayed! Your great shadow and Odin’s miserable lies have proven my words just. Don’t pretend you care – you’ve never cared, none of you have!”

“Mother has!” Thor yelled and the room fell so silent that everyone could almost hear each other’s heartbeats. Loki stared at Thor, completely still. “Mother always cared about you, even when you gave her no reason to. Even when father or I doubted you, even when we gave up on you, she always cared. She always believed in you and she still does.”

The brothers stared at one another while the others in the room exchanged careful glances.

“Do not throw her trust to waste, brother,” Thor said in a low voice packed with emotion. Loki said nothing. He stared back, unmoving, until he turned on his heels and stormed out of the room, leaving Thor staring after him, and the room in awkward silence. Then Thor tore his eyes away from the closed door and turned to Fury.

“Director Fury, I understand your plight,” Thor sighed heavily. “But my brother has a point. You have no right to ask him to… to go this far. Could we not talk to Tony Stark? Find alternative means to gain what we need.”

“We’ve tried that already,” Fury replied in a strained voice. “It hasn’t worked. Stark is stubborn. We’ve got a good thing going here, and I’ll be damned if I see it all go to waste!”

“Then what would you suggest?” Thor asked darkly. “That Loki continue this madness, that you continue to deceive your fellow Avenger in this manner to the ends of time?”

Romanoff’s eyes flitted to Fury, but her expression betrayed nothing. 

“The ends justify the means,” the Director said grimly. “We need Stark tech to counter the rising threat of villainous individuals. The tech they have is getting increasingly advanced, and we need to do better. We  _ need _ to be able to neutralize magical attacks, we  _ need _ to build better defenses for our agents; Stark is crucial in this, but he refuses cooperation.”

The room fell silent.

“Let me speak with my brother,” Thor pleaded, then. Fury nodded, but didn’t seem convinced that talking would work after the recent outburst. “I’ll be back presently.” With that, the god left the room.

 

Thor followed Loki to his quarters and entered without knocking, arriving just in time to see the trickster punch a wall hard enough to make it crack a little. It also seemed to hurt his hand a bit, given the way he flexed his fingers in mild surprise and annoyance.

“I know you’re angry,” Thor said. “But you need to consider…”

“Oh, I need to, do I?” Loki sneered mockingly. “You’ve no idea what it’s like to be someone’s puppet, a little  _ dog _ performing tricks for the masters!” he punched the wall again and hissed in pain.

“That’s not what you are, brother,” Thor frowned. “You are the only one capable of doing what they need.”

“I don’t much care for it,” Loki said. He was about to hit the wall again, but stopped midway and slumped down on his bed instead, looking incredibly tired.

“Brother, I’m sorry if my words upset you,” Thor began, and Loki glared at him murderously. “But you must know I meant every word. You know mother always cared. That she never gave up.”

Loki stared at his hands, clasped together by his knees.

“I know,” he sighed heavily. 

“Then please, do this for her,” Thor pleaded. “Doing this is the only way for you to redeem yourself. If nothing else sways you, if not even father’s punishment deters you, think of her. She wants nothing but the best for you, and she will mourn each day you are away from her.”

Loki shook his head and huffed in silent laughter.

“How did you learn to be so eloquent?” he asked, and Thor smiled a bit.

“Years spent with the master have left their mark,” he replied with a spark in his eye, and Loki glanced at him with something that might have been a smile. Thor got serious again.

“What happened today, Loki?” he asked. “I heard everything through the microphone, but I don’t know if… if you...”

“Never you mind,” Loki hissed, but his voice lacked venom and sounded more tired. 

“I do mind,” Thor insisted. “I must assess the situation myself.”

“Stark,” Loki said in a strangled voice. “He is… getting too involved in this.”

“How so, brother?”

“I think,” Loki swallowed, sounding like he was weighing every word carefully, “that he’s starting to… fall in love with Lorelei.”

A silence followed. Thor merely stared at Loki.

“Loki, this is…” Thor struggled to find words. “This is most unjust for the Man of Iron.”

Loki looked up at him, sucked his teeth, and then looked away again morosely.

“Indeed,” he said curtly.

The tone of his voice made Thor glance at him, and a grim realisation stabbed at his heart once more.

“Loki,” he said slowly, but his brother wouldn’t look at him. “You… please tell me… how deep are you in this? I need to know if you’re actually falling for -”

“Something needs to be done,” Loki interrupted him abruptly and loudly. “This can’t go on.”

Thor stared at him, and suddenly felt sick thinking about the Operation. And yet, father’s punishment weighed so much that he couldn’t have Loki dismissed from this. He sighed heavily.

“If we explain this to Director Fury,” Thor pondered, “and insist that something is to be done about it before the damage is irreplaceable, will you continue this mission?” 

Loki said nothing, and wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“Keep in mind father’s threat, brother,” Thor reminded him, sounding almost pained. “Surely you can endure this – surely this is the better alternative. Think of mother.”

Loki sighed heavily.

“Very well.” 

 

The gods returned to the council room and heated words were exchanged between Fury and Thor. Fury was of the opinion that Lorelei should immediately apologize to Stark, and Thor insisted that the relationship between the two needed to cool down considerably. Coming to an agreement wasn’t easy, since Fury thought Stark being more invested in the relationship would only increase their chances, and Thor argued that this was not a fair situation for either Stark or Loki. They shouted about it for a good while.

Romanoff was watching Loki, who, after his initial outburst on arrival, hadn’t said a word. He looked small in his black clothes, and seemed lost in his own world, staring at nothing, hardly even listening to the argument.

“The whole point is to keep Stark involved!” Fury yelled. “And now you want us to backpedal?”

“You’re deceiving him very cruelly, if you continue like this!” Thor shouted. “And what of Loki? I won’t allow you to use him like this!”

Fury was about to retort, when Romanoff spoke calmly:

“What do you think, Loki?”

The room fell silent, and everyone’s eyes found Loki, who looked at them as if woken from sleep; he was practically dumbfounded to be asked, and clearly hadn’t been listening.

“Of what?”

“Of this,” Romanoff replied. “What do you think we should do, for the benefit of the operation?”

One could’ve heard a pin drop. 

“For the benefit of the operation,” Loki repeated, and for a moment they were all sure he was going to start raving about how it didn’t concern him, but instead, he seemed to really give the matter some thought.

“My magic can hold his interest if I keep seeing him,” he began thoughtfully, and a bit evasively. “But there’s only so far it can stretch. It’s not mind control, as I’ve told you many, many times, so he still has a mind of his own – and it’s a strong one. If he deems me –  _ Lori _ – unworthy of his time, or a lost cause, allure alone won’t make him stay.”

Fury stared. He could hardly believe that Loki of all people was kind of taking his side. Thor shifted impatiently.

“However,” Loki continued with a frown, “I also agree with Thor. This is going too far.”

“Exactly!” Thor exclaimed, looking at Fury. “Something needs to be done.”

“What do you suggest?” Fury asked, but not from Thor or Romanoff: he directed his question at Loki.

“We need to keep a distance, but let him know that…  _ Lori _ is attainable.”

“A break-up story,” Romanoff suggested. “Say Lori has ended a relationship recently. Maybe it didn’t go well. Maybe it was very difficult for her. And that’s why she needs to take things slow.  _ Really _ slow.”

They all looked at Loki again, who was surprised to see they were waiting for his opinion.

“Seems… acceptable,” he nodded.

“Good,” Fury said. “Now all that’s left is for Lori to call Stark and apologize.”

This was agreed on, and Loki was given the task to call Stark – but Stark beat him to it. Loki’s phone rang just at the right moment.

“It’s him,” Loki blinked, looking at the screen.

“Answer it,” Fury ordered. “And remember what we agreed.”

“Put him on speaker,” Romanoff demanded, and showed Loki how to.

Loki sighed, closed his eyes for a moment, and answered the call.

“Hello,” he said, and everyone present was weirded out when they heard Lorelei’s voice coming out of Loki’s mouth.

_ “Lori?” _ Stark’s voice came through the speaker.  _ “Hi. Uh, sorry to bother you. I just wanted to make sure you got back okay. This city kinda attracts villains.” _

“I made it back quite safely,” Loki replied. “Thank you for your concern.”

_ “Yeah, no problem. Uh… look, about tonight…” _

“I must apologize for my behaviour,” Loki said. “It was very untoward of me.”

_ “No, no, I meant to say… I mean, I’m sorry if it was a bit… you know, out of line.” _

“Tony,” Loki said, and Romanoff narrowed her eyes at the softness with which Loki projected Lori’s voice. “I’m sorry. It’s not that I found the situation… unpleasant, but I recently parted ways with someone I had spent a considerable amount of time with. I enjoy your company, but right now I’m very cautious about starting anything like that again.”

A brief silence followed.

_ “Look, I understand. Believe me, I understand. It’s fine, Lori. Sorry I tried to push you.” _

“You had no way of knowing,” Loki smiled. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I would still like to spend time with you, if at all possible. I wouldn’t want to lose you. I do enjoy your company. I enjoy it…  _ very _ much.”

_ “Yeah, of course. I mean, you already know what I think. You wanna meet for brunch tomorrow? It’d be nice to clear this thing out.” _

“I would love to,” Loki replied without even looking at Fury or seeing what the others thought about it.

_ “Great! I’ll pick you up at ten-thirty.” _

“Lovely. I will see you tomorrow. Good night, Tony.”

_ “Night, Lori.” _

Loki hung up and the room heaved a collective sigh.

“That went better than expected,” Fury admitted. “This might not be a lost cause, after all. He seemed pretty eager to see Lorelei, even with her rejecting him.”

“Now we just need to make up a story about Lori’s past relationship,” Romanoff stroked her chin in thought.

“Could we say the guy died?” Fury mused. “That would make an impact, and would make Stark less likely to pursue Lorelei.”

“We should’ve said that from the start,” Romanoff shook her head. “No, we’ll come up with a regular break-up story. Stark can relate.”

While Fury, Romanoff, and Coulson were cooking up a past for Lorelei, Loki sat in silence by the table. He looked like he was barely listening, still holding the phone in his hand and slowly running his thumb over his lips in deep thought. Thor stood behind him like a guard dog, stoic and silent.


	11. The Secret

Tony wasn’t sure how to feel about Lori’s sudden departure last night and her explanation for it. He didn’t doubt her reasoning – he could relate all too well. It was just a bit of a shame that he had been so into it, and she didn’t apparently want any of it right now. Maybe she would still be up for a wild night or two? It might even help her. Tony was all up for it, in any case, but something stung deep within his chest when he thought about the fact that Lori maybe didn’t want anything more with him. He didn’t care to think why this made him feel bad – sure, he liked her and enjoyed her company, but he wasn’t looking for a real relationship or anything.

Except maybe he was. And this was what troubled him the most. A while ago he would have been happy to just be her friend with benefits, but now that she had crushed even the chance of anything more, he was kind of hurt. He didn’t really know what he was after, but he did want her in his life. 

Tony didn’t want to give up so easily. He felt like Lori was the kind of person he could spend more time with and not get bored; he actually kind of liked the idea of one day waking up next to her without either of them having to go anywhere. Having breakfast. And breakfast sex. Couldn’t forget the sex bit. He was honestly surprised at himself that he had spent so much time with her and never gotten further than first base. He wanted to correct that, but couldn’t push too hard at this point. He hoped that the brunch today would clarify things and maybe shed more light about if she was into him at all, or if she could one day be into him. He wasn’t going to wait for her forever, but he’d like to keep in touch if the chance existed. With that in mind, he set out for the small and quiet café he had agreed to meet her in.  _ Don’t let this one get away _ , he told himself.

Tony picked her up, as promised; they didn’t talk much during the drive, and it felt a bit awkward. It was a relief to enter the café, and they found themselves a quiet corner table and sat down. She looked fresh and lovely, as usual. He ordered them coffee, croissants, salads, the stuff. She looked quite uncertain, although she did smile at him as usual.

“So,” Tony said. He had to get it out. “I’m sorry about last night. I kinda misjudged, and thought you...”

“No, it’s quite alright,” she hastened to say. “I really do like you, Tony, really, and I do feel…” she fell oddly silent for a moment, and then shook her head slightly. “As I said, I have parted ways with my partner of several years. It happened right before I met you.”

“Sorry about that,” Tony said, but really wasn’t. He didn’t care about the guy at all, no matter how awesome he might have been. He could sympathize with her, though – breaking off things with Pepper had been the worst.

Lori shook her head with a rueful smile. “It wasn’t a good relationship, in the end, but it was all I knew for the longest time. When it ended, I was in a weird place… and then you came along. I want to move on, but… it’s hard to trust again. Hard to believe I won’t repeat my mistakes.”

“I’m not trying to pressure you into a serious relationship or anything,” Tony had to say. “I want you to know that you don’t need to feel like you’re committing here.” He’d seriously meant it to sound reassuring, but couldn’t help but feel it was a bit of a deuchy thing to say. She smiled wanly.

“Thank you. I know you’re nothing like him. I just need to take it slow.”

“I understand,” Tony nodded, but felt a bit deflated. If he was asked, they’d taken things glacially slow. A part of him wanted to just give up, continue with the business deals for a while maybe, and then drop the whole thing. Was it really worth his time?

Then Lori extended her arm across the table and laid her hand on his. He looked up at her, and met the warmest smile she had ever given him. She stroked the back of his hand lightly with her thumb. He swallowed. Give up? On her? Never. He grinned and took her hand in his.

“I don’t want to seem like I’m leading you on,” Lori hummed and looked down.

“Don’t worry about it,” Tony shrugged. “You’re not. I get that relationships are hard.”

She fixed him with a curious look - Tony thought she almost looked sad, and a bit anguished. It passed so quickly that he couldn’t be sure, however. She smiled brightly. 

“You’re a good man,” she chuckled. “I don’t deserve any of this.”

“Nonsense,” Tony snorted, trying to turn the conversation a bit lighter. He felt awkward talking about stuff like this in public, but also a bit elated - she sounded like she really cared for his company, and it made him happy. “Now, let’s eat.”

It was the most pleasant brunch he remembered having. There was something different about Lori - she seemed much softer and gentler than before, and there was a strange look in her eyes; pained and caring, weirdly bittersweet. They talked about the party, laughed at things, thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company.

Halfway through, however, Lori’s eyes drifted to a neat stack of feedback slips on the table. She seemed so distracted by them that Tony had to stop talking.

“Uh, Lori?” he cleared his throat.

“Oh, sorry,” Lori breathed. “I was just…”

“Wanting to leave feedback on your experience? I think it’s been pretty good.”

“Yes,” Lori’s eyes suddenly burned with determination. “Yes, I would like to leave feedback.” She took a piece of paper from the stack, and to Tony’s bewilderment, turned it face-down on the table. She took a pencil from a pretty little stand next to the slips, and scribbled something on the paper hastily.

“I think the idea is to fill out the form…?” Tony had no idea what was happening.

She fixed her eyes firmly on him and slid the paper towards him on the table. He looked at her curiously, and then read what she had written:

_ They’re listening to us. _

Tony looked at her.

“What…?”

“Yes,  _ what  _ was the first impression upon entering the café,” Lori prattled, her eyes boring into his meaningfully, and Tony could’ve punched himself for being so dense.

“Well, uh, I thought it was charming,” he said, taking the pencil.

_ Who are?  _ he wrote back.

“I’ll give them… four stars. I hate the curtains,” Lori hummed, taking the pencil and writing on the paper again.

_ People who are spying on us.  _

Tony was appalled at this, and more than a little wary.

“The food’s been good, though.” He tried to sound casual while scribbling his reply.  _ Why? _

“Yes, I’ve liked it, too.”  _ Because of my father. _

“Should I get us more coffee?”  _ Are you in danger? _

“Actually, I should be leaving soon.”  _ No. But you should delay with our business deals. Just in case. _

“Well, more pancakes? Can’t have too many pancakes.”  _ How long have you known? _

“No thank you, I’m quite fine,” Lori laughed while scribbling down her reply on the almost full piece of paper.  _ Too long. I’m sorry. I’ll tell you more next time.   _ “I should get going.” 

“Will I see you soon?”

“Of course,” Lori’s voice was soft, but her eyes were sad. She kissed him on the side of his lips as they parted. “Take care.”

 

The moment Tony got home, he sprung to action.

“Jarv, we need to do some digging,” he said, tossing his jacket towards an armchair; it landed somewhere nearby. He sat at his desk. “Pull up everything on  _ Endless Fashion _ . Double-check it all for me, every name, every address. If something doesn’t add up, you let me know.”

“Yes, sir.”

While his trusty AI was researching the data, Tony himself took to the Internet. He had looked up  _ Endless Fashion _ before, of course, but not very thoroughly. This time he needed to dig deeper. Whatever was going on, it had something to do with Lori’s dad, and there was a very real chance that Lori was in danger. She might have said she wasn’t, but Tony knew how shady businesses could get - and since Lori already had a dark past in association to her father’s deals, he was going to take no chances. He went through every possible link and reference he could find, and soon realised there wasn’t that much information on the company. 

It wasn’t long before Jarvis found a better lead, which Tony looked into more. A phone number didn’t correspond with any person - or rather, it did, but it looped back to someone else involved with the company, and it didn’t make sense. There was something slightly off with  _ Endless Fashion _ ; he couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was, but something was definitely fishy. The more he looked into it, the more things didn’t add up - but it was all very subtle, and he was constantly second-guessing himself. He knew all he needed was time, and he’d figure it out.

“What have you gotten yourself into, Lori,” Tony muttered to himself.

 

Tony managed to wait for two whole days before contacting Lori again. He didn’t want to raise any suspicion, just in case, and waited for her to contact him. In the end, he had to make the first move, and he texted her a suggestion to meet up at a jazz bar. It was a bit different, but he wanted to take a notebook or a laptop or something along so that he could continue his covert conversation with Lori. The music was an excuse not to speak, if someone was indeed listening.

It took Lori a good twenty minutes to reply, but she agreed to his plan. He hadn’t mentioned anything about the spying business in the message, of course; who knew how much the people involved were able to spy on her?

Jarvis and Tony hadn’t made any great breakthroughs with the mystery. All they had discovered was that there was definitely something strange going on with Endless Fashion, but they weren’t able to pinpoint it - yet. Every lead led them in circles; whoever was behind this had certainly made sure they were hard to track. Tony was hoping Lori could tell him more, but was confident that given a few more days, he and Jarvis could get to the bottom of the matter on their own. 

 

Tony escorted Lori to a corner table at the bar. The band was already playing, and Tony ordered them drinks. He made a comment on how nice it sometimes was to just sit back and enjoy the music in silence, and she agreed. When he pulled out the notebook and two pens, Lori nodded in understanding.

_ Tell me what’s going on, _ Tony wrote.

Lori looked worried and pensive.  _ They want your tech _ , she replied.

That rubbed him in all the wrong ways.

_ Who are they? _ Tony asked once more.

_ I don’t know _ , Lori wrote, and as Tony read it he was sure she was lying.

_ Why me? _

_ They don’t have the brains to develop what they need. You do. _

_ What’s your part in this? _ he asked.

_ I’m the henchman,  _ she wrote, her lips curling in a wry smile.  _ I do what they tell me to. _

_ Have they been listening all along? _

Lori stared at his question for a while before answering.  _ Only sometimes. They monitor me. _

_ Are you safe? _

_ Don’t worry about me _ , Lori smiled at him warmly.  _ I’m fine. But I don’t want to do this anymore. _

_ Why haven’t you told me earlier?  _ Tony couldn’t help but frown. He’d known Lori for six months now, and if this had been going on all that time… He could understand her not saying anything at first, but six months?

_ I didn’t dare _ , she replied.  _ I didn’t have the means. They keep a close eye on me. _

_ Do you need help? _ Tony was ready to whip out his suit and fly her to safety right away.

_ I can handle myself, _ she smiled at him again, but Tony thought the gesture looked a bit pained.

_ Do you WANT help? _ Tony asked instead. She hesitated before writing her answer.

_ I’m fine. Thank you. There’s nothing you can do. _

_ I can try. _

_ Please don’t.  _ She looked at him with pleading eyes.  _ It’ll make it worse. _

_ Why did you tell me if there’s nothing I can do? _

She didn’t give the notebook back for a good while, but instead hunched over it, scribbling away hastily. It made Tony uneasy. When she finally handed the book back, she looked nervous.

_ It’s not fair to you, and not to me. I don’t want them to control me, and this is my way of undermining their efforts. I’m sorry if it sounds selfish. I like you, and I never thought I would, and I wanted to tell you because of that, as well. There’s a lot I’m not telling you, and you know it. I’m protecting myself, as doing this much is already a risk for me. Still, you don’t have to worry about me. I’ll manage, I always have. Just know that although I have caused you much damage, I now wish I would have done something sooner. One could say I even regret it. _

Tony stared at the notebook long after he’d finished reading. Her statement was a conflicting mess - she seemed apologetic, and yet not; she expressed concern for herself, and yet told him she’d be fine. It drove him mad - there was so much left unsaid, and it was frustrating. She wasn’t giving him any details, and the vagueness drove him up the wall. He finally looked at her, ready to express his frustration somehow; but when he met her gaze, his heart mellowed. She looked so anxious it was unreal, although she was trying her best to mask it. He wasn’t fooled - it was in her eyes, plain as the day. He almost smiled when he realized he’d gotten pretty good at reading her expressions.

“Lori,” he said, taking her hand. “You’re quite something.”

She raised her brows, her lips parting in surprise. He couldn’t hold back a grin, and her face melted into a soft smile.

“As are you,” she replied. He kissed her hand. The band was playing a slow, dreamy tune, and despite of everything, Tony felt quite relaxed.

“You ever feel,” he drawled, watching the saxophonist doing a solo of some sort, “like it’s all gonna be okay? You know, just in general. That whatever happens, it’ll sort itself out?”

“No,” she replied immediately. “Do you?”

“No,” he chuckled. “But sometimes I want to.”

“It’s a nice thought,” she agreed.

“Yeah,” he said. He took the notebook again.

_ Thank you for telling me,  _ he wrote _. You’re always welcome to stay with me if you need to.  _

She smiled to him gratefully when she read the lines.

_ I’ll keep that in mind. _

“I should get going,” she said once the room burst into a languid applause after a song finished. “Thank you for the evening.”

“Thank you,” he retorted, kissing her hand as they parted.

When he got home, Tony read through the notebook several times, trying to find clues as to what was really going on. More often than not he kept focusing on irrelevant things - how neat Lori’s handwriting was, how she said she liked him, how there was a small nail-shaped dent on one page where she had gripped it a bit too hard.

“I’ll figure this out,” he promised to the empty room; Jarvis doubtless heard him, but said nothing. 

 

Fury was displeased. Lately, Stark had become difficult - every business transaction Endless Fashion tried to do with him seemed to take forever; he wouldn’t agree to anything, papers and plans were bounced back and forth as he would always require changes to the details or wordings. Things had been in limbo for two weeks now. 

“He’s clearly suspicious,” Fury rubbed his chin. 

“Maybe we’ve pushed too far,” Romanoff hummed.

“Maybe Loki’s magic is wearing off?” Coulson guessed.

“Hardly,” Thor came to his brother’s defense, as Loki himself wasn’t present. “Perhaps he’s grown naturally suspicious. Like Loki said, Tony Stark is intelligent and strong-willed; beauty and magic can only fool him for so long. Maybe it’s time to call the Operation off and try something else?”

“No,” was Fury’s answer. “We’ll keep trying. Maybe we shouldn’t have had Lori back off after the party…”

“If you’re suggesting following that route,” Thor’s eyes darkened, “I ask you to think again.”

“If you ask me,” said Barton, who had once again entered the room at the right time, though this time invited, “you should quit while you’re ahead.”

“I don’t recall asking you, agent,” Fury glowered at him. Barton was unaffected.

“I’m just saying,” he shrugged, “that there’s no way this can go on forever. You think Stark will let a woman lead him on for ages without any… you know, benefits? I don’t think so. Unless you’re planning on marrying Lori to him, I seriously doubt this can end well.”

“We’re not marrying my brother to Tony Stark,” Thor exclaimed, starting to get really upset.

“No indeed,” Fury sighed. “But we’re not giving up yet.”

“When is this going to end, if I may ask?” Thor frowned. “What is the end?”

The pause before the answer indicated that Fury might not have thought that far.

“We’ll end it when we’ve got what we need,” he stated vaguely. “No sooner.”

Thor watched him in silence for a long while. Would they ever get all they needed?

Agent Coulson entered, and Fury perked up. 

“Alright,” he said, “we’re all here. It’s time for a briefing on the subject of Doom. Agent Barton?”

“Right,” Barton sighed, standing up. “While you’ve been absorbed in this weird business, I’ve been tracking Doom around. Obviously, there are others who usually deal with him, but we need to be alert as well. Nobody wants a doombot on their turf, shall we say. The guy’s been very active lately.”

“He has indeed,” Fury frowned. “He hasn’t posed a direct threat to the city yet, and hasn’t engaged us in a fight; but the time might come.”

“What shall we do?” Thor looked ready for action.

“Basically,” Barton huffed, “we wait. But everyone needs to be aware of this - it can’t come as a surprise if Doom does decide to launch an attack or something. From what I’ve seen, he has the means.”

“Captain Rogers will have to be notified,” Coulson noted.

“And he will be,” Fury nodded. “He’s been out of town for a while, but I’ll call him in when necessary. Same goes for Banner. As of yet, there’s no need - but Doom  _ is  _ doing something funny, and we need to be prepared. So, stay on your guard. Dismissed.”

Everyone made to leave the room, but Fury called Thor to stay. Once they were alone, the Director fixed a steely eye on him.

“How is Loki doing?” he asked without beating around the bush.

“He’s a mystery,” Thor chuckled. “But I think he’s fine. As fine as he can, considering he’s not enjoying being at anyone’s service. But I’ve seen improvement in him, and I have hope for his future.”

Fury nodded. “Good. Now, I don’t want you to tell him anything of what we just talked about. However…” he measured Thor with his gaze as if wondering if he should continue talking or not. “Is Loki able to hold his own in a battle, in his current state?”

“Absolutely,” Thor replied without a single trace of doubt. “Not as efficiently as before, but I’m confident he can perform excellently. Are you considering letting him do battle with us?”

“No,” Fury said, but his expression told a different story. “Not yet, in any case. Tell him nothing of this.”

Thor promised he wouldn’t, but left the room beaming. Fury rubbed his temple. He was mad to even consider it, but the fact was, the Avengers were a man short. He decided to leave Rogers and Banner out the loop for now, as well. The situation wasn’t too dire, and if they were to come round more often, they would find out about Thor and Loki, and that would just do more harm than good at this point. Fury didn’t feel like breaking the news on Operation Lori to either of them.

He decided to continue on as normal, if possible. Banner wouldn’t be coming by on his own accord, and Rogers usually kept Fury well posted on his whereabouts.

_Usually_.

 

Steve Rogers entered SHIELD headquarters with a polite nod to the multiple guards he met on the way. They all replied in kind - he was well-liked among the staff there. He made his way deeper into the base briskly, drawing no strange looks. He turned a corner and blinked in surprise - Thor was standing in front of him, looking strangely like a deer in headlights.

“Thor? You’re back?”

“Yes,” the Asgardian managed to say, still not moving a muscle. A strained smile spread awkwardly on his face. “Good to see you, Steve Rogers.”

“You should’ve let me know!” Steve slapped him on the shoulder with a hearty chuckle. “How are you? How long have you been here? What have you been doing?”

“Well, I,” Thor cleared his throat. “I’ve been busy. Asgard stuff, you know.”

Steve nodded and was about to continue the conversation, when Coulson turned the very same corner Steve had just come from, and almost bumped into the two tall, bulky men.

“Agent Coulson,” Steve smiled with a nod; Coulson, too, looked a bit baffled. His serene smile never faltered, but his eyes darted between the two Avengers.

“Captain,” Coulson nodded. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Thought I’d drop by, since it’s been a while,” Steve smiled. His look turned curious when the others said nothing. “Am I not welcome?”

“Of course you’re welcome!” Coulson hurried to say. “We just weren’t expecting you, so… I’m afraid we can’t keep you company.”

“That’s alright,” Steve replied, a hint of suspicion creeping into his voice. “I was just heading down to the archives first, anyway.”

“Good,” Coulson said with a voice too high in pitch. “Well. Thor. You were just…?”

“Yes, I was just going to go get my br-” he glanced at Steve and cleared his throat. “... my... bronze… axe… as agreed.”

“Of course,” Coulson replied, as if that was a normal thing to say. “You do that. I’ll join you. Captain, I will see you later?” 

“Of course.”

Coulson nodded to Steve and began to lead Thor away - not a small feat, since there was no moving Thor if he didn’t want to.

“See you later, Captain!” Thor called, and the two hurried off.

Steve stared after them in confusion. Their strange behavior was a dead giveaway that they were up to something, or that SHIELD was up to something - or at least there was a secret in which Thor was involved. Steve sighed and shrugged, and went on his way; the day SHIELD  _ wasn’t _ up to something would be more rare and suspicious. He was sure he’d find out sooner or later.

Steve continued on a few floors down until he got to the archives. He passed the door easily enough - he’d been granted clearance a long time ago. Agent Coulson had personally made sure he had access to the archives at all times. Steve figured it was partly because of Coulson’s admiration of him, his status as an Avenger, and the fact that the archives weren’t in heavy use anymore.

Steve walked between the vast rows of shelves and file cabinets and breathed in the scent of old paper. Most of SHIELD’s archive material was digitized by now, he’d been told; the paper versions were there only for historical value.

He knew that if there was a file he needed to find, he could easily use an electronic device to find it and view it in the comfort of a rec room. However, he preferred the feel of paper in his hands, liked seeing the old text the way it had been printed, whether it was hand-written in ink or created with a typewriter. 

Steve came down to the archives sometimes when he felt like he was in a mood for research. He rarely found anything worthwhile, but the hope was alive that he’d one day discover something. He often browsed documents from his time, about his old friends and enemies, hoping to find clues everyone had overlooked - maybe a little scribble of text in the marginals, maybe a fingerprint behind the document. Something that wouldn’t translate to digital form.

He had to admit to himself, deep in his heart, that mostly he came to read the documents just to feel closer to the time he had called his own. While the memories triggered by the documents were rarely pleasant, he enjoyed leafing through the yellowed papers - it was tangible, it had been there when he had been young. The names were familiar, even though the people mentioned were long gone; it was a strange sort of connection he felt when reading about the events of the past.

Steve put a folder back into a drawer with a sigh, and shut it. He’d gone through that drawer many times already, it was too familiar. He walked slowly onwards and just relished the quiet and the solemnity of the archives. The shelves towered over him, and each step disturbed dust somewhere or other. It was funny, looking at the shelves and cabinets: it was clear to see where he’d been and what he’d touched. Everything else had a coating of dust on it. He smiled - he could trace his steps exactly just by the dust marks.

At the end of one shelf row he stopped. He had spotted a curiously dust-free corner of the archives. He could’ve sworn he hadn’t been there before. Well, no matter, he thought; surely he wasn’t the only one coming there.

But he’d never seen anyone else there. Didn’t even know anyone else ever came down there. He swayed in his spot - he knew it wasn’t his place to snoop, but then again… he did have clearance. He could just take a look. If they didn’t want him looking, surely they would’ve hidden their tracks or locked the files away.

Steve walked slowly towards the end of a remote row of archive cabinets. The next to last one had much less dust on it than the others;  _ Fire Drill Protocols 1978-1988 _ , the tag said. Steve stared at it incredulously. Somebody had needed that information recently? It seemed too unlikely to be true. Or maybe SHIELD was trying to learn from past mistakes with their fire drills? He hesitated, but then pulled open the drawer that had clearly been used last. He peeked inside. There wasn’t a lot in there - a good number of documents in a few folders, but not nearly as much as every other drawer there seemed to have.

He carefully picked up an ordinary-looking folder and held it in his hands. It was new, brand-new in comparison. It had no title, so he opened the folder to the first page. “Operation Lori,” it read on the paper in bland, unassuming letters. He turned the page and eyed the text casually, until his glance met a few select names.  _ Loki. Thor. Tony Stark. _

Before he could stop himself, he’d read the first pages.

Steve’s steps made the dust in the archives whirl and dance as he left the room, and consecutively the base, without saying a word to anyone at all.


	12. The Reveal

Tony was working on the repairs of his suits quite happily, when his phone went off. As usual, every time the caller wasn’t Lori, his heart sank a bit; the fact that it was again Steve didn’t improve matters.

“Twice in a year, he’s making this a habit,” he muttered to himself before answering. “Yes, oh mighty Avenger?”

_“Tony,”_ Steve’s voice sounded strained. _“Are you home? I need to speak with you.”_

“You do realise we’re already speaking.”

_“This isn’t the time, Tony,”_ Steve was clearly in no mood for jokes. _“It’s urgent. Can I come over? Are you alone?_ ”

“Geez, fine,” Tony huffed. “Haul yourself over, then.”

_“I’ll be right there.”_

Steve had already hung up before Tony had time to say a thing.

Captain Rogers arrived not many minutes after, and Tony met him in his penthouse. Steve looked anxious, and actually fidgeted as he sat down.

“What’s wrong with you?” Tony asked, crossing his arms.

“Nothing,” Steve frowned. “Tony, I… I have something to tell you. You’re not gonna be happy.”

 

Agent Coulson had indeed stored the information on Operation Lori somewhere Stark could never find it, no matter how much he hacked; but the safest place wasn’t as safe as it should have been. He hadn’t taken the Captain into account; hadn’t thought that he would find the papers in the archives, filed under such a mundane name. When Steve had found out why Thor was back on Earth, and what SHIELD was doing with Loki and Tony, there was no question in his mind as to what to do. His sense of justice did not approve of any of it, no matter how SHIELD would try to justify it. It was vile, and it angered and disgusted him; to think the lovely Lori Doyle he’d met at Tony’s party was actually nothing but a scam. As much as it hurt him, he knew it was going to hit Tony harder - but there was no choice. He needed to tell him.

 

Tony listened to Steve’s information without moving. He had evidence, he was clearly speaking the truth; Tony tried to deny it, but Steve made his case too well. He knew too many details of him and Lori to be making it up - SHIELD had its slimy tentacles in all this, and Lori was not who he’d thought she was.

“Tony, I had no idea this was going on,” Steve sighed heavily. “I can’t believe Fury would do this. I haven’t said anything to anyone else yet, but rest assured, Fury will hear about this…”

His words buzzed in Tony’s ears. He couldn’t remember saying goodbye to Steve, but soon he became aware enough to realise the Captain had left. He stood alone in the middle of the room, numb. It couldn’t be true. How could it be? Yes, there was something fishy going on, but Lori _herself_ had tried to warn him at the brunch. She wouldn’t have done it if she was just a disguise, that would undermine the whole supposed scheme. It made no sense. It couldn’t be true.

His stomach lurched uncomfortably. Had it all just been a game for her? If she was who Steve claimed, then surely it had been a sick joke at his expense - maybe born out of boredom, spite, or just plain old grudge. Tony felt sick. He had trusted Lori so blindly, had thought she was in danger, had actually bought her “sincere” words, had been willing to help her any way he could. And now she was nothing but… no. It couldn’t be. Could it?

He needed to make sure. Deep down, he trusted Steve and knew things were not looking great, but he needed to confirm it himself. He had researched _Endless Fashion_ further, and things didn’t add up, it was true - but that _this_ was what was wrong? He was numb from the information, but anger was starting to raise its head. He calmed himself and decided to call Lori - but before he got to his phone, she was already calling him. He stared at her name on the screen coolly, and his insides roiled with too many emotions to count.

He answered in what he thought was a normal voice. She sounded just like herself. How could any of it be true, surely it couldn’t. She was just calling to say hello, and thank him for the brunch. He wasted no time and asked her over, _insisted_ ; said he had good news for her. She agreed, and said she was on her way.

“Jarvis,” Tony’s voice rang cold. “Record everything. Absolutely everything.”

He went to get sensors from his lab and placed them carefully around his penthouse. He was going to get as much information out of this as was humanly possible.

_But what if Steve’s wrong_ , a part of him argued. _It’s Lori, come on._

No. It wasn’t Lori. As much as he hated to trust Steve, he did. The man was earnest and true, and had the details. He tried to calm himself, tried to stay steady. He’d know for sure in a moment.

Before Lori got there, he went to get one of his suit gauntlets and placed it in a drawer grimly.

 

Agent Coulson realised Captain Rogers had left only two hours after he’d met him in the hallway. He’d been tied up with work and other responsibilities, and had thought that it was very strange behaviour from the Captain that he hadn’t come to say hello; usually he at least stopped to say his goodbyes, and he was sure the man would have wanted to exchange a word or two with Thor again. He checked with the security to ask about it, and found that the Captain had left in a strange rush. Even though his cool façade never faltered, Coulson’s insides lurched uncomfortably. He knew the Captain had visited the archives, but surely he wouldn’t have… _couldn’t_ have… He turned on his heels and hurried to the archives.

_Fire Drill Protocols 1978-1988._ Coulson opened the drawer. The files were still there, but he didn’t dare sigh in relief. He picked up the folders one by one, meticulously examining them for any signs of anyone else but him having touched them.

A paperclip was in a different place.

He stared at it. That’s not where he’d placed it. He was pretty sure of it. He was very careful with the files, and he was the only one to handle them. Perhaps this evidence was flimsy, but…

“Director,” Coulson was on the phone before the dust he’d disturbed in the archives had settled. “We might have a problem.”

And Loki was already well on his way to see Stark.

 

Lori stood in the penthouse, radiant and beautiful as always. She smiled at Tony warmly, but he could only give her a strained smirk. The moment she had entered the tower, he’d asked Jarvis if anything seemed odd. Her heat signature was unusual, and when Jarvis scanned her in the elevator, the materials she appeared to be wearing didn’t correspond with the data he’d gotten.

“Is everything okay?” Lori asked, concerned, as Tony didn’t rush to meet her, didn’t offer her a drink or a seat.

“I got a visit from and old colleague today,” Tony said, walking away from Lori who stood in the middle of the room. He didn’t want to look at her. Couldn’t.

“Indeed?” Lori raised her brows slightly. “That must have been nice.”

“Yeah, well,” Tony said and went to the drawer. He opened it and looked at the gauntlet inside. He turned around, not touching it yet. “He had some interesting news to tell me.”

“Oh?” Lori sounded a bit confused.

“Yeah,” Tony said, doing his best impression of a calm and collected person. “Apparently, SHIELD is trying to get my tech with a new – and I must say unusual – plot.”

“That does not sound good,” Lori’s voice was calm. Her expression was totally blank.

“It’s not,” Tony smiled. “They’ve done some questionable shit in their time, but this ranks pretty high.”

“And what is it they’re doing, then?” Lori was still calm. Tony looked into her eyes and wanted to hate her.

“They are teaming up with the enemy,” he continued, “to cheat me to give them my stuff. I mean, it’s pretty low already, but the way they’re doing it…”

Lori said nothing. She merely looked at him, and he casually took out the gauntlet and put it on. Her eyes were fixed on it.

“Tony?” her brow was slightly furrowed and her voice wary.

“Why am I telling you any of this? You already know,” Tony laughed mirthlessly, hardening his voice and his eyes. He aimed the gauntlet at her. “Give it up, I know everything. And tell _Fury_ to _fuck off_ .” He raised his voice, knowing Fury was listening to the conversation, safe in his disgustingly bleak base. Tony was seething – he was enraged – by the thought that all this time he had spent with Lori… no, not Lori; _worse_. And all the time Fury had been listening, probably laughing, making fun of him. It made his blood boil.

“You know, I never did understand why you found the name ‘Lori’ so amusing,” Tony said, looking into those hypnotically green eyes. “But now I do. Matches your real one, doesn’t it? _Loki_.”

Lori stared back, expressionless.

“Tony, please,” she said, then. “I have no idea what you are saying. Please, put down that… thing.”

Tony laughed. Oh, Loki was good. Still trying to play the part, still trying to appeal to his feelings… Tony felt disgusted. She looked nervous.

“Fury, you don’t need to tell him to keep it up anymore,” Tony said loudly. “It’s over. I’m done.” And with that, he shot at the woman standing in front of him squarely in the chest. Lori stumbled backwards and fell on her knees. Tony had expected her to bounce back immediately and attack him like Loki had done before – which is why Tony had his whole suit on standby – but “Lori” stayed down. For a horrible moment Tony thought he’d made a terrible mistake, but then the illusion shattered, and there he was – Loki was crouching in the middle of his living-room. He was breathing heavily and there was a burnt hole in the middle of his armor, and the skin underneath looked raw and singed.

“Long time no see,” Tony drawled icily, drawing his eyes away from the unexpected wound – he was probably faking it anyway. “You played me good, you and the SHIELD fuckers. What was it? Mind control? Or is that just something your fancy little glow stick did for you?”

Loki looked up at him, and for a brief moment something tugged at Tony’s heart – the eyes that looked at him now were the same he had loved all this time, and they were _hurt_. He shook the feeling off immediately, though, and Loki turned into ice and steel as well. He stood up with some effort and smiled without any mirth.

“What would be the point of controlling your mind,” he asked and spread his arms, better revealing the nasty-looking wound in his chest, “when you are so predictable? I would love to stay, but I hear the puppeteer calling.” His smile turned into a grimace, and in a green shimmer he was gone.

“Jarvis,” Tony said, looking around warily and aiming his gauntlet at thin air.

“He is gone, sir,” the AI assured in his calm voice. Tony lowered the gauntlet and stood in the middle of the room, now alone and not having a clue what to do. He hated SHIELD, hated Loki, hated everyone who had been involved in this. Somehow he had imagined that exposing Loki would’ve been more satisfying – he had at least expected the man to put up a fight. But now… he felt nothing.

“Jarv,” he said in a hollow voice. “We need to up the security around here. Can’t have people teleporting in and out like that.”

“Yes, sir. Will you start research on the required equipment at once?”

“Nah,” Tony said blankly and tossed the gauntlet on the couch. “Right now I think I’ll get wasted.”

“Should I inform Miss Potts, sir?”

“Tell her to terminate all contact with _Endless Fashion_ ,” Tony said firmly. “If she has questions, she can ask them later. There’s nothing else she needs to know right now. We’re not dating or anything.” And oh, wasn’t that a lovely thought. Right then and there he felt like he had nothing – his relationship with Pepper had crumbled, Lori had been nothing but a lie, and most meaningful relationships in his life just seemed to dwindle.

“Activate all security measures,” he ordered hollowly. “No one without authorization comes in. Effective on the whole building, immediately. Alert me at once if someone tries to enter. Don’t let anyone in my penthouse. Not even Pepper.”

He grabbed as many bottles from the bar as he could carry, and passed out on his bed later that night, after screaming his throat sore in rage and trashing half of his bedroom. Rarely had he been so angry, so _humiliated_ ; it burned him from the inside out, and nothing he did helped.

 

When Loki appeared at the headquarters, the room was completely silent, and he swayed on his feet upon arrival and fell on his knees at once. Thor rushed to his side anxiously.

“Brother! Are you alright?”

“Fine,” Loki said curtly, but looked less than okay. He looked around. Barton wasn’t there, but Romanoff was leaning on a wall, her arms crossed over her chest, looking at the floor. Coulson was already on the phone to the medical lab, informing the personnel of Loki’s arrival. Fury was leaning his elbows on the table.

“Damn Rogers,” Fury muttered. Loki wouldn’t look at anyone, and was trying to swat off Thor. “That’s it, then.”

There was nothing to be said about it, really; the plan had gone spectacularly wrong, and not only was Stark even more against SHIELD now than before, he was also angry at the Avengers who were involved in the scheme. There was nothing salvageable in the whole ordeal.

“To the med lab, if you please,” Coulson motioned towards the door. Thor pulled Loki up and tried to assist him out of the room, but Loki bat his hands away and walked on his own, looking slightly pained and unsteady, but very alive. The gods left with Coulson leading them, and Romanoff sighed quietly when she was alone with Fury.

“We’ll need to come up with something else,” she said. “Stark will be extra careful, and I don’t think we can fool him again. There’s got to be someone else capable of doing what he can do.”

“Yeah,” Fury replied sourly. “We’ll think about it later.”

 

The med lab was curiously empty when the trio got there; Coulson suspected all staff who wasn’t needed had left. Nobody particularly wanted to spend time near Loki, and Coulson understood them all too well. He himself wasn’t too keen to hang out with the man, what with almost being killed by him, but he wasn’t afraid. Loki had said himself that it had been nothing personal, and even though Coulson wanted to hate him, he couldn’t. He didn’t like him, but he knew there were casualties in any war. He had aimed that cool gun at a god like a fool, though a brave fool, even if he said so himself. What should he have done? It had been a part of his job to make sure world-conquering super villains didn’t just waltz out of their detention cells. He’d done his best, and he didn’t regret a thing. He didn’t think Loki wanted to finish what he started, or anything – Coulson knew he was nothing to the god; ants and boots, or something like that.

Besides, Coulson was more than confident that Thor could keep his brother in check. Loki’s powers were, of course, formidable, but they were also diminished. Before, Stark’s attacks wouldn’t have injured him much at all – they’d all seen that – but now there was at least a dent in the guy. A normal mortal would be dead, of course, but still. Loki wasn’t as invincible as he had once seemed, which also meant that he didn’t take unnecessary, or stupid, risks.

“Sit right there,” a nurse said; she was an elderly lady and had seen too much during her career to be intimidated by demigods or villains alike. A job was a job, and Coulson appreciated her greatly – she was a no-nonsense kind of person, a true professional, military medic, and extremely good at what she did. She had a presence which made even Loki shut up and do as he was told. _J. Banks_ , Coulson read from her nametag.

“You need to take off some of that leather and metal, I can’t clean the wound otherwise,” nurse Banks said and started to put together all the equipment she needed. Loki looked annoyed, but began peeling off his armor – Thor helped, and although Coulson could see Loki’s irritation growing because of it, the god didn’t stop his brother.

“This will heal in time,” Loki said. “It’s not necessary to…”

“Your powers are not what they used to be, brother,” Thor reminded him and Coulson saw Loki narrow his eyes venomously. “It will take a good while now. Let her treat your ails.” Loki sighed in frustration.

Coulson watched in silence as the armor came off, bit by bit. The wound on Loki’s chest looked nasty. Coulson averted his eyes. It was his fault, all of it. If he had locked the drawer with the papers, or kept them somewhere else… he felt responsible for the Operation failing, and for the mess they were now in. He didn’t feel _too_ sorry for Loki’s injury - after all, he would pull through, and Coulson hadn’t forgotten the grueling months of recovery he’d endured after Loki had almost killed him. In a morbid way, they were kind of even.

After some time the armor was off and nurse Banks began her work. The wound on Loki’s chest looked bad, but wasn’t too deep. Loki didn’t say anything while she cleaned and bandaged his chest, and merely stared into nothing while Thor observed the nurse’s every action with interest.

“Did you see anyone else with him?” Coulson asked. “In the building?”

“No,” Loki replied. “We were alone.”

Coulson nodded. Captain Rogers would’ve stayed with Tony for backup if he had known; Coulson was sure of it. The Captain never left his friends in trouble, and facing a dangerous individual was not something he’d let Stark handle alone. Coulson deduced that Stark hadn’t told him what he was about to do, therefore.

“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary? Did he say anything that might give us…”

“There was nothing normal about that visit,” Loki hissed and glared at Coulson. “He knew the moment I got there. He didn’t try to pretend or fool me. He wanted a confrontation.” He watched nurse Banks suturing the burns on his chest for a moment.

“It’s almost as if he was disappointed that I left without putting up a fight,” he added thoughtfully with a small frown, looking incredibly weary. Coulson nodded and went a bit further to inform Fury. Once he got off the phone he noticed that the nurse had gone to get something from a closet and Thor was facing Loki. Coulson could only see his back – Loki was completely behind him – but he could hear them both.

“How are you, brother?” Thor asked quietly.

“I already told you it’s fine. It will heal soon enough.”

“It’s not what I meant,” Thor sounded compassionate. Loki said nothing, and Coulson could only imagine the glare Thor was receiving at the moment.

“I am fine,” Loki stressed every word.

“Loki, you don’t need to –” Thor tried to continue, but Coulson thought it was a good moment to interrupt and make his presence known again.

“You’ll both be called in a meeting with Director Fury once things have settled down,” the agent informed the gods. “Until then, have some rest. I’ll see you later.” He left with a small nod, not waiting for an answer. He wasn’t sure what to make of Thor’s concern and Loki’s strange evasiveness, and wondered if he should mention it to Fury or not. It might have been nothing, and even if it was something, what did it matter anymore? Stark was lost to them.

An hour or so later Fury called in a small meeting between his two favorite assassins, his favorite Norse god and his not-so-favorite brother, his favorite Coulson and favorite Hill. The seven of them sat down at the round table in the familiar meeting room, and although Maria Hill hadn’t been as involved with Operation Lori as the others, she had been fully aware of it all – and been a stand-in for Fury during the times when he himself was too busy listening in on Lori’s dates. She had been the one who had diverted unwanted attention, misdirected Rogers when necessary, and generally just been very efficient.

“Here are the facts,” Fury began and looked even more sour than usual. “Stark knows everything. Our plan is ruined. I’m not very happy about this, but there’s nothing we can do to salvage the situation. All we can do is move on and do damage repair.”

“Captain Rogers and Doctor Banner have been called in,” Coulson said. “Both will be arriving within a week. Captain Rogers is, of course, aware of the situation and will doubtless have questions, but Doctor Banner knows nothing of it.”

“You’re trying to say someone needs to tell him,” Barton snorted with one brow raised high.

“He will be informed, of course,” Hill nodded. “No one needs to volunteer.”

“I’ll do it anyway,” Romanoff shrugged. “If I can get the detention cell for the occasion.”

“Of course,” Coulson smiled, and the matter was sorted.

“There’s two things we need to take care of now,” Fury continued impatiently. “One: make sure Stark doesn’t become a pain in the ass. Two: get the best minds we’ve got working on countering enemy attacks – Doom is the number one offender as of now, but there will be others in time. Banner will be here, but anyone else you can think of…”

“Might I suggest Lady Jane?” Thor said immediately. “She’s most intelligent.”

“It’s true,” Hill hummed, going through some files. “She and doctor Selvig have made some great discoveries already, and would no doubt be of use.”

“If you can get them onboard,” Barton remarked sourly. “SHIELD kinda stole her research that one time and she wasn’t too pleased – and Selvig probably doesn’t want to work with _him_.” He nodded curtly towards Loki, who looked indifferent.

“We’ll ask nonetheless,” Fury frowned. “Thor, you wouldn’t mind accompanying agent Coulson to ask Jane Foster for her assistance?”

“Not at all,” Thor positively beamed. “Shall we depart at once?”

“No,” Coulson replied casually. “We need to get Banner onboard first.” Thor looked slightly disappointed.

“Make the arrangements,” Fury said. “Alright, Hill, Barton, Romanoff, you’re free to go. The rest of you, a few more words.”

Once the three agents had left the room, Fury stood and fixed his eye on Loki.

“Since Lori is history now,” he began, and Loki met his gaze without a blink, “we need to think of other ways for you to help us.”

“It wasn’t Loki’s fault that the plan failed,” Thor butted in warningly.

“I wasn’t blaming him,” Fury countered. “But we can’t use Lori again. Not in that context. However, we do need to start working harder on countering every possible attack we can imagine. Doom’s tech is too advanced to be just science – Barton suspects magical elements. That’s why we need all insight you can give us.”

Loki stared. “You have done your scans several times,” he said coolly. “You have poked and prodded. What else is there to do?”

“You’ll be working with doctor Banner,” Fury informed him. “He might have more ideas than the others. If your magic is radiation based, like the Tesseract, there is a chance that…”

“You want _me_ to work with _him_?” Loki said incredulously, and even Thor looked a bit reserved.

“Director Fury,” Thor said. “I must say that given doctor Banner’s condition and my brother’s tendency to cause conflict…”

“Why thank you, Thor,” Loki huffed bitterly.

“… I don’t know if that’s a wise idea.”

“We’ll break it to Banner nice and calm,” Fury stated. “His self-control is remarkable, and he won’t feel threatened – there is nothing Loki can do to him now. He has the upper hand.” He looked at Loki and there was a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “It’s really up to you if you want to anger him or not. Last time didn’t end up so great for you, so I’d suggest not.”

Loki looked at him sullenly, but remained silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the love, comments, and kudos! I appreciate it all so much, you guys are the best <3


	13. The Breach

Loki could be found in the sparring room more often than not. When he wasn’t beating Thor, he kept punching every bag in sight. Nobody dared to approach him, and he made no effort to be approachable. Only his brother spent time in his near vicinity, but the level of their arguments and fights had devolved almost back to Loki’s early days at the base – they clashed every day, and almost always when any conversation was attempted. Thor seemed to want to help his brother, and that was done through sparring; this meant that he let Loki use him as a human punching bag without fighting back on full force. The plan rarely worked, because when Loki noticed Thor wasn’t giving it his all, he taunted and mocked, and managed to rile Thor up every time so that he himself ended up on the ground, with a bruise or a few. 

In general, Loki was in a sour mood. He had given up all pretenses about being at least marginally polite, and settled to practically hating everyone he saw. Fury had instructed Barton to steer clear, because he didn’t trust the two being near each other – he knew Loki was looking for a reason to lash out, and Barton had issues that needed resolving, which meant he wanted to goad Loki into breaking Odin’s rules and thus have him sent away. Fury might have not minded otherwise, but he knew Thor wasn’t bound by anything, and the god could do some real damage in a fit of rage. Barton was only human, after all.

After Operation Lori had crashed and burned, Fury had made sure that SHIELD was prepared for anything Stark might throw their way. Network security was upped, of course; all staff was briefed to be suspicious of anything coming from Stark.

They also took inventory on all tech they had managed to get from Stark up to that point. It was nothing revolutionary, and what Fury had been most interested in was Stark’s magic-countering prototype, which sadly hadn’t come to fruition. However, they had a considerable amount of equipment to use, and they were going to make the most of it. While it wasn’t the most useful stuff, it was something, and they weren’t going to waste it.

 

So drinking wasn’t the solution to all of life’s problems, Tony Stark noticed when we woke up hungover third day in a row. He took a swig to cure the nauseating horror that was his stomach and head, and sank into the couch. He didn’t feel better when he was drunk, and he didn’t feel better when he was sober. In his drunken stupor he kept envisioning things – he assumed it was the alcohol, but he kept getting images of Lori in his head. To banish them he tried thinking about Pepper, and that worked for a while – until her face turned into Lori’s. There had just been so much unresolved sexual tension and he had fantasized about Lori too many times to forget her just like that.

And it got even worse if he gave in and let Lori take over. It was great at first, but then her face changed into Loki’s and back again, over and over, until he wasn’t sure what the hell was going on. All he knew was that he missed someone, Lori, Pepper, one of them or both. That led to a lot of anger and self-loathing. This he tried fixing with booze, but it never worked. Had it ever worked in his life, now that he thought about it? Well,  _ whatever _ .

The day after Steve’s visit, Tony had poured his heart out to Pepper. He’d been hungover, and then drunk again, and she had come to see him in the middle of his worst moments, no doubt prompted by Jarvis and the sudden termination of contact with  _ Endless Fashion _ . He’d told her everything with Jarvis’ help, and she had been mortified, angrier than Tony had ever remembered seeing her. She had given him her full sympathies, and promised to do her all to negate any transactions that were still pending to  _ Endless Fashion _ \- and in general undo as much of the damage as possible.

She had been so understanding and so sweet that Tony’s hazy mind had read too much into it. He’d tried to kiss her, and she had rejected him, politely leaving him to his own devices. That had crushed him, and he’d spent another day wallowing in his misery, anger, and disgust. He may have tried to hack SHIELD again, or send a virus their way; his memories of the time were a bit inconsistent.

So on the third day, sprawled on the sofa in the middle of bottles, all he knew was that his life sucked, and there was nothing he could do to make it suck less.

Thus, he decided that the best way to deal with his issues was to ignore all of them. It had worked before, hadn’t it? If you didn’t think about it, it didn’t exist. He didn’t want to think about Lori, or their time together; didn’t want to think about what he’d said to her, and how much he’d given away to SHIELD. He felt sick whenever it crossed his mind, and all he wanted to do was erase it all from his brain. And what better way to achieve this than to combine all his vices – alcohol, casual sex, and partying? He showered for the first time in a few days, dressed up nice, took a bunch of cash along, and headed to his favorite casino.

Tony had fun, or rather, tried his best to convince himself so. Nothing truly felt good, but he thought that if he kept smiling and behaving as if life was great, he could fool himself into actually feeling it. Occasionally he forgot why he was so miserable, but there was a numbing ache inside him which he couldn’t shake.

He lost a lot of money, gained most of it back, bought drinks for virtually everyone present, flirted with everyone, got flirted to by everyone. Women, men, old, young, they all wanted to be his friends – and then some. He ordered shots, spirits, everything; he got propositioned several times (some asked for money, so he had to decline; the tabloids would never let him live that down if they got a whiff), propositioned a few, and somehow ended up with a gorgeous woman on his arm.

Or maybe he ended up on her arm? It was hard to tell – the whole situation was bit of a blur. Tony was at the bar, minding his own business (as far as his business was to buy drinks and flirt like there was no tomorrow) when she approached him.

“Excuse me,” he heard a velvet-like voice behind him, and when he turned to look he was face-to-face with one of the most gorgeous women he had ever seen in his life. She was tall, blonde, and so beautiful it was unreal. Tony was instantly smitten; he decided that if he was going to get laid, it was going to be with her. Sure, he had come here to find some random floozy who would look as little like Lori or Pepper as possible, and here he was, drooling after a woman who was like some diabolical combination of the two. She had rich, wavy hair that reached her lower back; it wasn’t strawberry blonde like Pepper’s, but something about it reminded him of her. The woman had a delicate, yet assured face, just like Lori, and everything about her was immaculate. Her divine curves were clad in a skin-tight green dress, very open at the front. Her eyes, though, were what Tony would’ve thought were a deal-breaker had he considered the matter before seeing her: they were impossibly clear and green, just like Lori’s.

It didn’t matter how much she resembled Lori, or Pepper, she was too incredible to pass. She oozed confidence and was so incredibly alluring that Tony was ready to do whatever she said, give her anything she wanted, and defend his actions to his dying day.

“Hey,” he blurted out, remembering to put on his swagger. He wasn’t going to mess this up.

“Mind if I sit here?” the woman purred, indicating a chair next to him.

“Not at all,” Tony said.  “Can I offer you a drink?”

“Please,” she smiled and sat down elegantly like a cat. “Am I correct in assuming you are Tony Stark?”

“The very same,” Tony winked as he paid for her drink. Her accent was reminiscent of Lori, and yet Tony found he didn’t particularly care. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Amanda,” she batted her lashes at him slowly, giving him the most incredible set of sex eyes he had seen. “Forgive me for not knowing you instantly, I’m new here.”

“Oh?” Tony was unable to take his eyes off hers. “Well, I certainly don’t mind.”

“I’ve heard rumors about you,” she said almost coyly, stirring her drink with a smile. “I was wondering if there was any truth to them.”

“Depends on the rumor,” Tony retorted, hoping she hadn’t heard anything too damning. 

“Is it true that you… appreciate beauty?” Amanda smiled playfully at him, her green eyes twinkling with amusement.

“I’m doing so as we speak,” Tony raised a brow, glancing at her up and down. She laughed brightly.

“My, I’m glad to hear that,” she edged closer, and Tony could smell her intoxicating perfume. “I also hear you appreciate the simple pleasures of life. As do I.” She looked at him with hooded eyes and parted her lips so seductively that he just wanted to have her right there and then.

“Well,” he cleared his throat. “How about we talk more at a…” but he didn’t manage to finish the sentence when his phone went off. He wanted to ignore it, but the buzzing against his thigh wasn’t as titillating as it could’ve been in the situation. He glanced at the caller and saw it was Pepper; he almost muted the thing, but then something snapped into place inside his head – the haze Amanda had brought upon him cleared a little, and Tony knew he couldn’t ignore Pepper. She never called him for nothing. He looked at Amanda, who was positively radiating sex, and held up his phone.

“Sorry, I gotta take this,” he told her. “I’ll be right back. Have another drink, on me. Don’t go anywhere!” He winked at her and left to find a quieter place to talk before she could say a thing. “What’s up?” he said somewhat impatiently when he answered the call; Amanda was still fresh on his mind and he couldn’t wait to go back to her.

“ _ Tony, you need to come back right away _ ,” Pepper sounded frantic on the other end. “ _ There’s been a security breach. Jarvis says there are files which have been compromised, but obviously I can’t…” _

“Whoa, whoa, what?” Tony frowned, coming out of the haze Amanda had left him with. “When?”

“ _ Just a minute ago I think _ ,” Pepper replied in a strained voice. “ _ Jarvis says it’s very recent and that he’s trying to find out who and how… you need to get here right now.” _

“On my way,” Tony hung up and began hurrying towards the exit, ignoring the people trying to get his attention. When he remembered Amanda he slowed down a bit, glancing behind. He couldn’t see her from behind the mass of people, but she was probably still waiting. He hadn’t gotten her number or anything. However, a security breach in his systems weighed more than casual sex at the moment, and he stormed out of the casino – swearing under his breath at the missed opportunity.

“Jarvis, give me the news,” Tony demanded immediately upon entering his tower.

“The system was breached at 11:24 PM, sir, from a yet unknown location. I am tracking the signal at the moment.”

“What did they get?” Tony pulled up files to see if anything was out of place.

“They seem to have taken nothing, sir,” Jarvis replied. “The breach targeted files containing information on other people.”

“What?” Tony frowned and opened the files in question. Pepper entered the room and looked nervous.

“Is everything under control?” she asked. “Do we need to take precautions?”

“Jarvis?”

“The physical security systems are not contaminated,” the AI said. “No one has bodily entered the building.” Pepper sighed in relief.

“Do you need me, Tony?” she then asked, concerned. “I can…”

“It’s okay,” Tony smiled at her briefly. “Me and Jarvis will figure this out. I’ll keep you posted, you can go back to bed.” He looked at her pajama-clad form, and she smiled at him.

“Right,” Pepper said. “Good night. Try to get at least some sleep, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Tony said dismissively, and mentally added the sigh Pepper managed to contain. “Night, Pep.”

Jarvis was right, of course. Nothing was actually stolen, but someone had been in his system, spying. Tony wracked his brain - who would want to spy on his files on other people? SHIELD immediately popped to mind, naturally, but that made no sense - they had even more extensive files on anyone they considered significant. Besides, Jarvis had been able to pinpoint the intrusion to Tony’s staff files, rather than information on any Avengers.

Tony froze. His staff. Why would anyone want to spy on his staff?

“How much do you think they got?” he asked.

“Impossible to tell, sir,” Jarvis replied. “Nothing was copied or downloaded. The average time they spent viewing a single file was 25 seconds, 64 seconds for the files of Miss Potts, Mr Hogan, and Mr Rhodes.”

Tony’s insides ran cold.

“Why.”

“I cannot say, sir. Also, a total of 55 seconds was spent viewing a file of Roger Fields.”

“Who?”

“Mr Fields substituted for Miss Potts during her holiday earlier this year.”

“That guy?” Tony was perplexed, but then he remembered it was Fields who had given SHIELD the green light to start their plan with Lori - unknowingly perhaps, but in retrospect, that had been a huge mistake on  the man’s part. With everything that had happened since, Tony hadn’t spared a single thought to Fields.

“Why Fields? Is he still employed here?”

“He is, and he went back to his regular duties after Miss Potts returned. He still works closely with her.”

“Keep tabs on him,” Tony frowned. “I don’t trust him.”

“Very well, sir. Anything else?”

“Figure out who did this,” Tony clenched his jaw. “I need to know who, and why. SHIELD?”

“Unlikely, sir,” Jarvis said. “There is nothing new in these files that SHIELD could gain, and the trace is not typical to them.”

“Get me some data, anything,” Tony frowned. “I’ll be down in the workshop. I’ve wasted enough time - I’ve got readings to analyse.”

And that’s what he did while Jarvis tried to track down the culprit. Tony went through every single frame of his encounter with Loki, examined the heat signature readings closely, analysed the data from every single sensor he had set up for the occasion. What he found made him grimly happy - Loki’s magic had left its mark on the equipment. It wasn’t strong, but it was something; the energy levels near him were very high, especially during the moment when he had teleported away. It pained him to play back his last meeting with “Lori,” but he gritted his teeth.

“I can use this,” he muttered to himself. “I can work with this.”

Spellblock was starting to have a future. He worked on his invention through the night, almost forgetting about the shitshow that had been the last few days. Sometime in the early hours Jarvis alerted him.

“Sir, I have discovered the source of the intrusion.”

“Hit me.”

“I have traced the attack to one Victor von Doom.”

Tony blinked.

“What?”

“Comparing the methods and the sources of this attack, and referencing them to what we have already discovered about his -”

“But why?” Tony’s frown reached record levels. “Why me? Why him? What’s he got to gain from my staff records?”

“Could there be a chance that he is after something of yours, and is planning to use your staff as leverage, sir?”

“I don’t like the line of though there,” Tony sucked his teeth. “But I’m afraid you might have a point.”

“What shall we do, sir?”

“Alert Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey at once,” he said. “Their files were looked at more closely. Tell Pepper to not leave this tower, and keep an eye on her. Inform Happy and Rhodey to lay low for a while, and keep their eyes peeled. No need for Happy to come to work - oh, and send people to keep an eye on them both.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Doom, you son of a bitch,” Tony mumbled. “What is your problem?”

Tony kept on working on Spellblock for the rest of the night, and the next morning, and the next day. He passed out on a couch once, and afterwards kept on going. Naturally, Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey all contacted him to ask what was going on; Tony managed to convince to lay low for a while and stay alert.

The night of the security breach was starting to take shape in his mind, and he remembered Amanda. Just thinking about her made his whole body feel pleasantly tingly, and he had to physically shake himself to keep his mind focused. No woman, no person, should have that effect on him. There was something strange about Amanda, and Tony almost dropped a wrench when the realisation struck him.

Amanda reminded him of the first times he had met Lori. The feeling had been similar, though with Lori, much fainter; but with Amanda? It felt all-consuming, it was attraction like he’d never experienced before. It wasn’t normal, and Tony had a very uncomfortable feeling about it all. Could Amanda have been Loki in disguise, again? He seethed, and had to take a step back from his work to calm himself. It had to be the case. There was no way there were two people who had the same effect on him, going around the city, doing their own thing. Was SHIELD still sending Loki out, but in a different guise? How dumb were they?

And did they - did “Amanda” - have something to do with the breach? Her appearance was too perfectly aligned with the attack. Jarvis had said Doom was to blame, not SHIELD, but… was Loki in kahoots with Doom? Tony shook his head. Nothing made sense. All he knew was that someone was after him or his stuff,  _ again _ , and that the safest thing was to stay inside… or go out fully suited.

“I’ve gotta do something, Jarv,” Tony muttered.

“What would that be, sir? Might I suggest a meal and rest?”

“No,” Tony snorted. “I gotta do something about something. Someone. I’ve got no patience for SHIELD right now, but Doom? I’m gonna have to do something about that clown. My friends and staff can’t keep a low profile forever, and neither should they have to.”

“Indeed, sir.”

“Trace Doom’s security breach as far as you can,” Tony demanded. “I need a place, an area, something.”

He wasn’t going to let this slide.


	14. The Science

Doctor Banner arrived at SHIELD headquarters in the morning, looking rather nervous and not at all happy to be there. Fury, Coulson, and Romanoff were there to greet him. However, it was Romanoff who got the honors of informing Banner about the nature of the situation.

“Follow me, please,” she said, and he looked suspicious.

“Where to?”

“Detention cell,” she said matter-of-factly. “Unless you feel like you don’t need it. What I have to tell you might require it, however.”

“Alright,” Banner sighed, looking less than pleased.

Twenty minutes later Romanoff came back alone to report to Fury. Thor was also present.

“Well?” Fury’s glower betrayed nothing.

“Did you tell him about Loki?” Thor asked at once.

“I did,” Romanoff nodded calmly. “He took it pretty well. Not exactly happy about it, but he understood why he’s here. I told him he needed to work with Loki, and he actually seemed interested to study him. The problem was Stark.”

“Full green?”

“Yes, sir,” Romanoff nodded. “He didn’t like Operation Lori. At all. He tried his best to stay calm, but in the end he succumbed.”

“Well, the worst is over,” Fury huffed. “We’ll talk to him when he’s back to normal. Rogers should be arriving soon.”

And Rogers did arrive soon. He wasn’t exactly friendly with Fury when he got there, and the two of them exchanged some heated words about Operation Lori. Fury yelled at the man for behaving out of line and almost accused him of treason; Rogers yelled at him for being immoral and generally just horrible,  _ sir _ . It took some time, but in the end they agreed on a truce. Fury told the Captain that Operation Lori was now dead and buried, but that the threats against the country were still great and needed all cooperation. Rogers seemed satisfied enough, but made it clear that he would not be a part any further deceitful acts against Stark or anyone else, and assured Fury he would walk out the moment something like that happened. 

These were the terms, and they were agreed to, begrudgingly. Fury decided that Banner and Loki should get acquainted as soon as possible, and so he scheduled some lab time for them as soon as the doctor felt calm enough to face the music. Banner was briefed by the science team, and Thor; he was shown footage of Loki’s magic, and given all the data they had been able to get.

Fury was watching the first meeting behind a one-way mirror. Loki was sitting warily on a table, out of his armor and in the clothes he’d been given for Stark’s party; his armor required delicate repairing, and it took him some time to do it right. He tried to look aloof, but Fury would’ve bet anything that it was just a facade.

Doctor Banner was standing on the other side of the room, watching him. Neither said anything at first, but then the doctor drew a deep breath and smiled faintly.

“So,” Banner eyed Loki warily, as was usual for him in most situations. “Where do we even start?”

“I thought you were the scientist here,” Loki replied in an careless way, an attempt to mask his nervousness.

“True,” Banner replied slowly, “but I don’t exactly have a lot of knowledge about magic.”

“Your science is not too far off, surely,” Loki scoffed.

“A matter of debate,” Banner shrugged. “Illusions such as yours, for example, aren’t quite what we’re able to do. How do your illusions work?”

“They are nothing but a cover, a mask,” Loki huffed nonchalantly. 

“Interesting,” Banner put on his glasses. “Could you show me…?”

Without saying a thing, Loki turned into Lori, wearing a sleeveless dress she’d worn at one of the dates. Banner blinked in surprise and seemed to itch to examine closer.

“And is this the disguise used in…?”

“In Operation Lori?” Loki sneered derisively in Lori’s alto. “Yes.”

“And your voice changes with it?”

“If I want it to,” the god shrugged. “It’s a natural part of any disguise.”

“Of course,” Banner acquiesced. “So… how does this… Does it  _ feel _ like…?”

“You are welcome to touch,” Loki said wryly. Banner approached him warily and Loki offered a tense, bare arm, which Banner touched. 

“It feels like… skin,” the doctor frowned. “But you’re still wearing your shirt?”

“Of course,” Loki nodded. “As I said, nothing changed but perception. You’re fooled to think that this is what I look like, and that this is what I feel like. It’s powerful magic, if I might say so myself; I’m taller than her, but your mind can only process what it sees. It’s fooled into thinking that what you are seeing and touching is real.”

“Incredible,” Banner muttered, looking at him up and down. “Thank you, you can turn back for now.”

Loki shed the illusion and Banner stared as he did, trying to see how it was done.

“Is it more difficult to cast an illusion that’s greatly different than you are?” Banner asked. “Would you be able to turn into a child or an animal through illusions?”

“Of course,” Loki scoffed. “But the farther the disguise is from me, the harder it is to function. Don’t forget it’s still me underneath, and if I were to look like a child, there would be… oddities.”

“Such as…?”

“I could reach places my disguise could not,” Loki replied. “While your mind might be fooled enough to ignore the impossibility, there are limits. Only a true idiot would keep getting fooled.”

“So Lori is easier because she’s close to your build and looks?”

Loki nodded curtly. “Being a bit shorter than me isn’t a huge issue.”

“Are you able to actually shapeshift?” Banner asked, then. “As in, to really become something or someone else?”

“Not at this moment,” Loki said distastefully and averted his eyes.

“Because of the magic that was taken from you?” Banner ventured, and Loki glanced at him poisonously.

“Yes,” he replied curtly. “That requires more magic than I’m currently able to access, thanks to Odin.”

“Which do you prefer? Illusions or shapeshifting?”

“Depends,” Loki shrugged. When he didn’t elaborate, Banner sat down on a table and crossed his arms.

“On what?” he asked with a smile, thankful for all the times he’d spent meditating.

“Illusions are quicker to cast and more manageable, considering I am myself all the time,” Loki sighed, frustrated. He wouldn’t look at Banner more than fleetingly. “Shapeshifting requires more effort and magic to initiate, and of course it limits what I can or cannot do. Maintaining it, however, is not as consuming as illusions, which require conscious upkeep.”

“I see,” Banner nodded eagerly. “Is keeping up an illusion hard?”

“Not very,” Loki said. “Once one gets accustomed to it, it barely requires a thought.”

“Barely?” Banner narrowed his eyes. “But it does require thought?”

“It’s still an active process,” Loki replied and sounded like Banner was pulling his teeth with these questions. “I cannot maintain an illusion if I’m not conscious.”

“But that’s not a problem with shapeshifting?”

“No,” Loki scoffed. “If I physically become something else, that is what I am until I decide not to be.”

“Wouldn’t it have been easier for Operation Lori to shapeshift?” Banner asked, turning to type something in.

“Perhaps,” Loki huffed. “It would’ve had its merits, but Odin took away much of my magic. No doubt he felt that if I was left with the ability to shapeshift, I would find a way to escape his clutches.”

“Would you?” the corner of Banner’s mouth twitched; he was sure he knew the answer.

“Of course,” Loki grinned. “If I had still had that much power, I could’ve turned into anything I wanted, and shielded myself from them all. They would never have found me.”

“I can see why they didn’t want that,” Banner smiled mildly. He turned to his equipment. “They’ve scanned you here before?”

“Often,” Loki looked annoyed. “If you need to do that as well, fine – I have no idea how you could find out anything more than them.”

“I’ll try,” the doctor inclined his head. “Do you know if the trail your magic leaves is weaker when your powers are weaker? Your magic does leave a trail, doesn’t it?”

“All magic does,” Loki said somewhat evasively. “It doesn’t always linger for long, but it does leave its mark.”

“And have they been able to trace it, here?”

“Not to my knowledge,” Loki replied, and sounded pleased.

“I assume you’d rather keep it that way,” Banner muttered as he set up the scanners.

“Obviously,” Loki snorted. “Why would I want your lot to be able to trace any of me?”

“Fair enough,” Banner hummed. “I’ll try regardless.”

“Be my guest,” Loki’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Hopefully my magic leaves no trace detectable to your equipment, especially in my…” he grimaced, “condition.”

“Well, we’ll see,” Banner hummed and pulled up the previous data on Loki. “I’ll do what I can. I wish Tony was here, I bet together we could get so much more done.”

Loki said nothing. Banner began setting up the scanners and other devices, when Loki finally spoke.

“You know him well?”

“Tony?” Banner looked up from his work. “Well, I’ve only known him for a short while. Since the… New York thing. I lived with him for a while before heading off to India, it was fun enough.”

“ _ Lived _ with him?” Loki said bluntly. Banner glanced at him.

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “He invited me over after the attack. We talked about science, mostly. He’s very smart, although sometimes a bit too cocky when it comes to his own skills.” He chuckled at some memory, and seemed surprised when Loki huffed in laughter, as well.

“I rather think he’s cocky about everything in general,” Loki smiled to himself. 

“Maybe,” Banner said. “I don’t mind. He knows I don’t take all his shit seriously.”

“He’s a persona,” Loki mused quietly, and Banner looked at him curiously. The god seemed lost in a memory, staring into nothing, with a small smile ghosting on his lips. The doctor frowned a bit, but got back to work.

They spent the rest of the day in the lab. Banner recalibrated every device and did a very thorough examination of Loki, redoing every scan and test SHIELD had already put the god through. Loki wasn’t happy about any of it, but didn’t resist. He spoke only when spoken to, and always kept a good distance away from the doctor. Banner noticed this and wasn’t surprised – in fact, he didn’t mind at all; the less chance for aggravation or surprises, the better. He didn’t particularly want to destroy the lab – or the rest of the base, for that matter.

Banner tried to strike up conversation at times. He asked Loki about his magic, and learned that in addition to illusions he was able to summon armor and weapons to himself, as evidenced by the footage from Stuttgart a year ago. He said he couldn’t just magic anything into existence, but that he had to already know where the things he wanted were, and he had to have bound them to himself previously. Only then was he able to access them - except for now, since Odin had taken this ability away from him. How, Banner didn’t know, and Loki didn’t say.

It was all very interesting to Banner, but the most curious thing was that whenever he mentioned Tony Stark, Loki seemed to brighten up a bit and talk to him about the man. Banner was alright with this; Tony was a common acquaintance, and he only said good things – he wasn’t going to gossip about a friend to someone who had participated in  _ Operation Lori _ . Loki seemed, however, happy to trade stories and memories, and Banner noticed Loki had come to know Tony quite well. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that, considering the circumstances which had enabled all of Loki’s knowledge, but the god wasn’t spiteful or arrogant about any of it – instead, he spoke about Tony almost fondly.

 

Thor and Coulson returned late that night, without Selvig or Foster. Thor looked extremely deflated.

“No luck?” Fury crossed his arms and let out a heavy breath.

“Dr Selvig wants nothing to do with Loki,” Coulson explained with a strained smile, “and Dr Foster doesn’t want anything to do with us.”

“We pleaded,” Thor sighed. “But she was adamant. I understand her point.” He gave Fury a dirty look, as if her refusal was the one last thing that made him dislike SHIELD.

“Can’t be helped,” Fury frowned. “We’ll have to make do with what we’ve got.”

Thor went to complain about his sweet lady’s absence to Loki, who was the least sympathetic person to tell anything of the sort. 

“She’s smart,” Loki snorted. “No wonder she’d refuse working with these people.”

“I had hoped she’d like to come to spend time with me,” Thor confessed sheepishly. “She and I shared something special.”

“Why are you so infatuated with her? If you think about it, you’ve known her for three days. And that was quite a while ago.”

“Our love is strong, Loki,” Thor said with ardor. “She’s most amazing.”

“Whatever you say,” Loki rolled his eyes. “I’ll ask you again in three years.”

 

Banner and Loki spent much of the following week in the lab. Banner had learned much from his first sessions examining Loki’s magic, but there was work that needed done, instruments that needed tuning. He felt like he was onto something, but couldn’t quite figure out how to get there. Not yet, at least. 

“What kind of magic is the… the seduction thing?” Banner asked Loki once, and the god quirked a brow.

“Are you asking for a demonstration?”

Banner’s mouth twitched in a held-back, nervous smile. “I wouldn’t mind.”

Both of Loki’s brows shot up high at this, but then he grinned and cast the Lori illusion on himself again. Banner had no idea what to except when “Lori” approached him, but the way she looked at him made him realise how devious Operation Lori had actually been.

“You… should stop now,” he breathed, rubbing his temple; not only did he feel inexplicably drawn to her, but knowing that this was what was used on Tony angered him.

Loki shed the illusion immediately and withdrew back to his seat, watching him warily. Banner took a few deep breaths and gave Loki a strained smile.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m… fine.”

Loki didn’t look the least bit convinced, but nodded.

“So… that’s what was used on Tony.”

“Yes,” Loki nodded slowly, watching his every move.

“Often?”

“At first,” Loki replied, sitting stock-still, his eyes following Banner as he adjusted the tools. “More rarely as time went by.”

“Really? So it didn’t need to be regular?”

Loki observed him tuning a scanner, and a moment passed in silence.

“I haven’t used that magic on him in a few months,” Loki said finally. Banner could only stare in surprise.

 

Since Jane Foster had turned down SHIELD’s gracious offer, Thor had become somewhat clingy. He would often seek Loki’s company, and try to talk about Jane, or complain about SHIELD stealing her research and thus making her refuse. Loki had very little patience for him.

“Go talk to  _ her _ , not me,” he sighed one time. “The cat’s out of the bag now, there’s nothing stopping  _ you  _ from leaving this place.” There was bitterness in his voice, knowing he wasn’t allowed the same privilege.

“You’re right,” Thor frowned. Realisation seemed to dawn on him. “I should visit. I should try to make things right.”

Loki narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t worry, brother,” Thor slapped his shoulder. “I’m not going to do anything stupid.”

“A shame,” Loki huffed. 

“This organization has done things that have been quite vile,” Thor sighed. “I suppose they mean well, but… I haven’t always agreed with their methods.”

“And  _ now  _ you realise it,” Loki rolled his eyes.

“I don’t know if there’s anything I can do,” Thor’s brows furrowed. “But I can try.”

Loki said nothing.


	15. The Visits

On one strangely thundery afternoon, Tony was about to hole up in his workshop for a day or two when his trusted butler AI spoke up.

“Intruder on the balcony, sir,” Jarvis announced.

“Who? Do I need my arsenal?”

“It is Mr Odinson, sir.”

Tony sighed. He supposed it was bound to happen at some point. He drew a deep breath and went to the living-room, and sure enough, the Asgardian was standing behind the glass walls, waving his hand sheepishly as he made eye contact with Tony.

“Put me on speaker,” Tony requested of Jarvis. He wasn’t going to go out, and he didn’t want to let Thor in. He wasn’t happy with the guy.

“What do you want?” Tony asked, none too kindly. Thor looked around when Tony’s voice was projected from the speakers outside.

“I merely wished to speak with you, friend Tony,” Thor replied, far louder than he needed to. “I came to apologise for myself and for my brother.”

“I don’t wanna hear it,” Tony said. “Go away. I’m busy.”

“Tony Stark, I must insist,” Thor looked adamant. “I cannot let this issue come between us. May I come inside?”

Tony stared at him for a while. The god looked sincere, and Tony was sure he wouldn’t stop bothering him until he agreed. He wasn’t particularly interested in hearing anything Thor had to say, but ten minutes of his time… whatever. At least he’d only have to go through it once.

“Open the door, Jarv,” Tony sighed, and the door slid open. Thor smiled widely and strode in. He almost looked like he was going to give Tony a hug as he approached him, but Tony interrupted.

“Just say what you came to say,” Tony held up a hand and rubbed his temple with another. “I’m in no mood for this.” Thor’s happy expression fell, and he turned serious. Tony sat down, and Thor followed suit.

“I must apologise for the dishonest way in which you were treated by myself and Loki,” Thor said. “We only did what was considered appropriate at the time.”

“You mean to say Fury made you,” Tony narrowed his eyes.

“Not quite,” Thor shook his head. “Loki is in his service, and so must comply. Perhaps he was forced, slightly, but…”

“Yeah, whatever,” Tony interrupted. He really didn’t want to hear this. “Anything else?”

“I hope this incident doesn’t entirely ruin our newfound friendship,” Thor actually looked worried.

“I don’t know,” Tony said. “Now that you’re here, you might answer a few questions, though.”

“Anything,” Thor sat up straight looked eager to help.

“Why the hell is Loki working for Fury?”

“It’s a part of his punishment,” Thor explained. “The All-Father issued it. He’s to help Midgard, since he did such considerable damage to it. His powers are diminished, and he’ll get them back when the All-Father deems his debt paid.”

“And helping Earth means helping SHIELD?” Tony rolled his eyes.

“Your SHIELD is in touch with such matters as these,” Thor said. “It was a logical choice.”

“Of course,” Tony sighed. _A part of his punishment..._

“Friend Tony,” Thor said after a moment of silence. “I thank you for this opportunity to speak my mind. I can only apologise for the hurt this operation might have caused you.”

“Uh, thanks,” Tony said. Thor got up.

“It’s not my place to say,” the god hesitated then, looking incredibly unsure and even out of his depth.

“But you’re going to, anyway?”

“My brother…” Thor cleared his throat, fixing his eyes on Tony and clearly weighing his words carefully. “He has told you more about himself during these past months than he’s ever confided in me. He is… fond of you.”

Tony stared. Thor looked uncomfortable, but Tony didn’t care. He didn’t need to hear this. He didn’t _want_ to hear this. What did any of it matter? What difference did it make? What did it even mean? Then anger raised its head.

“Yeah?” he blurted out, louder than necessary. “Then why the hell does he feel like he needs to keep up the charade? Come to think of it, why is Fury still sending him out as a lady? I’ve had enough of that bullshit.”

“What?” Thor looked genuinely confused.

“Oh, come on,” Tony huffed. “Just last week I met a green-eyed woman who seemed suspiciously interested in me – and she gave me the same weird vibe Lori used to.”

“Loki hasn’t left the base since that final meeting with you,” Thor frowned. “I’ve personally been with him, and when I went to meet Lady Jane, Loki was accounted for.”

“Don’t try to tell me there’s someone else like Lori out there,” Tony scoffed. “She obviously had some magic, the way she tried to play me. Cut the crap.”

“Tony Stark,” Thor took a few steps closer, looking adamant. “Describe this woman to me.”

“Uh, well,” Tony frowned in turn, not quite sure what was going on. “Blonde, green eyes, very sexy, and I mean _very_ _sexy_ …”

“And you say you felt she had magic?”

“Yeah, she made me feel like…”

“… like you could not quite think straight, as though she filled your every sense and you would be ready to do everything and anything for her?”

“Yeah,” Tony was stunned.

“You must stay away from her,” Thor grabbed his shoulders heatedly and Tony was almost thrown off balance. “Do _not_ let her close, and under no circumstance let her kiss you!”

“What?” Tony was extremely confused.

“What did she call herself?”

“Uh, Amanda.”

“I see,” Thor nodded darkly. “Heed my warning. She wasn’t Loki in disguise, but an old enemy of mine. She possesses powerful magic, and has been known to enchant men so that they become nothing but her slaves. She is very persistent, so beware.”

“Why is she after me?”

“I don’t know,” Thor looked away. “Perhaps she has some ulterior motive… she used to be very… fond of me.”

“Don’t tell me she’s using me to get to you? Because that’s just not fair.”

“I cannot say,” Thor replied. “I advise caution. I’ll inform you if I learn something about her movements.” He turned to go, and Tony escorted the god back on the balcony, feeling very bewildered.

“I hope to see you again, Tony Stark,” Thor said. “Be careful.” Then he swirled his hammer, and took off. Tony stared after him for a while, not knowing what to think.

So he decided to follow his original plan and disappear into his workshop, and not think about it at all.

 

Thor arrived back at the headquarters in a rush and hurried to find Loki at once. He saw his brother go into the usual briefing room, following Coulson and Banner, and realised he was almost late for a meeting. Right then, though, he didn’t care, and caught his brother before he had time to close the door.

Thor pulled Loki aside rather brusquely. “I must speak with you.”

“Let go of me,” Loki griped and jerked away irritably. “You can speak without manhandling me.”

“No, Loki… in private,” Thor glanced at Coulson rather conspicuously. “Before I tell the others, you must know…”

“Something the matter?” Coulson’s smile was serene as he walked towards the gods.

“Nothing at all, Son of Coul!” Thor smiled a little bit too widely. “I’m just chatting with my brother.” He laid a heavy hand on Loki’s shoulders, and the latter ducked away at once.

“M-hm,” Coulson’s eyes darted between them. “Is it something you can share with the rest of us?”

“In a moment, certainly,” Thor’s smile was so forced his face looked pained. “I would just have words with Loki first. If you will excuse us…” and Thor all but pushed Loki into the hallway.

“What is with you?” Loki hissed as Thor slammed the door shut and ushered him a bit further away.

“I must speak with you,” Thor insisted with urgency.

“Yes, I know that much already,” Loki was grinding his teeth. “About _what_?”

“I went to see Tony Stark,” Thor blurted out, and Loki’s face closed up at once. He was clearly on his guard.

“Why?”

“I wanted to apologise,” Thor glanced down. “He’s been treated foully. He was not very receptive, but I did manage to say what I wanted to say. But, Loki,” he looked at his brother with anxious eyes. “He told me something most concerning.”

And he told Loki about the woman Stark had met. Loki’s eyes went wide.

“’ _Amanda’_?” Loki narrowed his eyes.

“That’s what she called herself,” Thor nodded grimly. “Stark thought it was you.”

Loki looked like he was going to be sick.

“You did -”

“I assured him it was not the case,” Thor clapped his brother’s shoulder. “But you know what this means.”

“She’s on Midgard,” Loki nodded thoughtfully. “What for? Surely not after _you_ again.”

“I’ve not seen her since that one time,” Thor grimaced. “I would rather keep it that way.”

“Hopefully she’s gotten some standards since,” Loki snorted, and Thor looked mildly insulted. “But why go after Stark?”

“I don’t know,” Thor sighed. “But we must tell the others. She’s one more threat on a rather extensive list.” Loki shrugged, and they went back into the room with the rest of the team.

“Friends,” Thor announced grimly and made them all look his way. “I’m afraid I have bad news. The Enchantress is on Midgard.”

His words were met with empty blinks and confused glances.

“Sorry, who?” Barton frowned.

“Amora the Enchantress, wielder of spells, seducer of men, banished from Asgard,” Loki listed with a bored wave of his hand. “A woman with a questionable taste in lovers.”

Thor frowned at him. “Don’t make light of the situation. She’s a formidable enemy.”

“Back up,” Fury glared at them all, almost fuming. “Who exactly is this Amora and why should we care?”

“Amora is a powerful sorceress with an unhealthy obsession with Thor and bloodshed,” Loki explained. “Her greatest ability is love spells. She can make any man her slave with a single kiss.”

“And what has she done?” Fury frowned. “Has she attacked Earth?”

“She met Tony Stark,” Thor said. “He thought it was Loki in disguise, but I managed to convince him otherwise. I’ve warned him about her.”

“She met Stark,” Fury said blankly. “ _That’s it_?”

“Surely you must see that her trying to sway him over to her side is a risk,” Thor insisted. “All she needs to do is to kiss him, and she will have the resourceful Man of Iron to do her bidding!”

A silence fell. The prospect was indeed chilling. Stark may not have been their friend at the moment, but at least he wasn’t their enemy - and he was susceptible to alluring women, they knew that for sure. If a hostile party could get their hands on him…

“So, mind control,” Barton said darkly. Thor nodded grimly. The agent rubbed his face. “Son of a bitch.”

“You went to see Stark?” Romanoff noted casually, and fixed her eyes on Thor. The god drew himself to his full height and faced her defiantly.

“I did,” he replied. “What of it?”

“Nothing,” she shrugged. Fury narrowed his eye on Thor.

“I trust you didn’t tell him anything he didn’t need to know,” he said.

“I went to see an old friend,” Thor glowered. “Surely no harm in that.”

“There isn’t,” Rogers said, crossing his arms and fixing a stern look at Fury. “None at all.”

“Let’s focus on  the task at hand,” Fury sighed, frustrated in the face of the two muscular Avengers staring at him in a very confrontational manner. “We’ll deal with this Amora later if need be. Right now, we’ve got to handle Doom.”

He eyed the room.

“We’re going to get ourselves a robot from Doom's little collection.”

Banner perked up at this, seeming genuinely interested.

“Why?” Rogers narrowed his eyes. “Sir.”

“Because if there’s someone with as advanced tech as Stark, it might be Doom. And since he’s already causing trouble, we might kill two birds with one stone. Do some damage, get something for us.”

“This isn’t the first time SHIELD has encountered Doom's guard robots, surely?” Rogers looked a bit suspicious. “Why not just examine the salvage you’ve no doubt gathered?”

“We want one that is still functional,” Fury retorted.

“Oh, this is gonna be fun,” Barton huffed.

“I’m sure you’ll manage,” Fury said drily. “Now. This is a team effort, but not everyone is needed. It’s more of a covert mission than a straight attack, so Banner, you’re excused. You’ll get to examine the bot once we have it.”

The doctor nodded silently, and looked relieved.

“Rogers, you’re in charge of the mission,” Fury continued. “Barton and Romanoff, you’re in as well. We’ve got a new EMP based gun in the works which might neutralize the robots, I’ll brief you two later on that. Thor…”

Thor looked so eager that even if Fury had planned on leaving him out, his resolve would have crumbled at his expression.

“This will probably require some muscle, so you might as well be in.”

Thor beamed. Fury turned his shrewd eye on Loki.

“How’s your armor?” he asked, eyeing the god’s black Earth clothes.

Loki looked at him suspiciously. “Almost fixed.”

“Good. You’re in.”

A silence washed over the room as everyone stared at Fury in shock. It was broken by Thor’s hearty laugh and the sound of his hand slapping Loki on the back.

“Excellent!” he cried. “I can’t wait to get on the field with you, brother!”

“Director…” Barton cleared his throat. “I’m really not sure…”

“Not now, agent,” Fury shut him down. “We’ll gather again later for the tactics. Everyone, dismissed.”

Loki looked stunned, but as he was leaving the room with the beaming Thor, he had to return to an earlier, yet equally important, issue. He pulled Thor aside to an empty room, and couldn’t help but ask for more details.

“You visited Tony,” he said before Thor had time to utter a single word. “How did he… what did he…”

“He wasn’t very happy, if that’s what you’re asking,” Thor sighed, his good mood over Fury’s declaration dissipating a bit. “He’s very hurt, I could tell.”

“What did you say to him?”

Thor watched his brother’s strained expression, and wondered how much he should say. I was pointless to repeat Stark’s words exactly, and he wasn’t sure if he should say anything about what he had told Stark about Loki. With the way things were, it wouldn’t really make matters better.

“I apologised for both of us,” Thor replied. “He asked me why you were working for SHIELD, and I explained it in the shortest of terms. He wasn’t very interested in talking to me, which I understand. I don’t think he forgave me, or us, but I tried.”

Loki stared at him in silence before turning his eyes away and nodding.

“Very well.”

“Now,” Thor clapped his hands together and mustered back his beaming smile and good mood. “You’ll be fighting with us! I can’t wait.”

“Hmm. At least it will be nice to bash someone’s face in, again.”

Thor glanced at him sideways, not quite sure if that had been humor or not.

 

Before the latest meeting, Fury had decided that since Loki’s time as Lori was over, he would need to be put to work otherwise. As it seemed that Doom was becoming more and more of a problem - reports kept filing in about disturbances connected to him - they needed to do something about him. Thor had long been of the opinion that Loki could fight with the Avengers, but Fury had been highly doubtful; even though they could track and monitor Loki, it still seemed a bit of a risk to send him out with a weapon.

Thor had often argued that the team was one man short, and that Loki was a good fighter. Fury knew all this, but putting together a team of superheroes had been difficult enough the first time. How was he supposed to make a villain fit into the group? Barton hated his guts, Rogers was suspicious, and who the hell knew about Romanoff. There was also no telling how the Hulk would deal with it. He was also pretty sure Loki wasn’t very fond of any of them, either.

Thor had been adamant, and in the end, Fury had figured they might as well try. His sudden decision had come as a shock to everyone, but he stood firm. A robot recovery mission was a trial by fire for the wayward god. But first, it was essential that Loki got along with everyone. Fury wasn’t even going to try to make him friendly with Thor; he assumed the brothers had an understanding of some sort, and wouldn’t kill each other on the field. He also didn’t want to aggravate Banner any further, since the man already spent so much time with Loki, and it seemed to be going well enough. It was also pointless to make Romanoff and Loki have coffee together or whatever. She was a professional, and generally unphased by Loki’s presence. It seemed that Loki and Romanoff had, if not a mutual respect, at least a mutual understanding of each other’s capabilities; both knew the other wasn’t someone to be messed around with.

Rogers hadn’t spent much time with Loki, so that would have to be corrected, if only to get them familiar with each other’s presence - and then, of course, there was Barton.

That was going to be the hardest challenge. Barton hated Loki, and Loki hated him right back. No matter how the two were brought together, someone had to be watching them constantly. Fury managed to delay the inevitable acclimation by getting Rogers out of the way first. He stuck him in a room with Loki, and told them both to behave.

Neither of them really seemed to know what to say. They stared at each other for a good while before Rogers cleared his throat.

“So,” he began. “You already know I wasn’t too happy about the operation you were involved in.”

“Neither was I,” Loki replied coolly.

“Fair enough,” Rogers nodded. “I wasn’t too happy about you bringing an army of Chitauri to Earth, either.”

“Need I repeat myself?” Loki said, and Roger’s bows shot up high.

“Oh,” he managed. “Well, that’s good. Look, I’m not going to pretend to understand you. But since we’re on the same side now…”

“Are we?” Loki cocked a brow, testing him; Rogers crossed his arms.

“Aren’t we?” he retorted. “Seems to me we’re stuck together as a team, if nothing else.”

Loki said nothing. Rogers held out his hand.

“Fresh start?” he said. Loki’s eyes darted between his outstretched hand and his eyes.

“For now,” Loki replied hesitantly, and took the hand offered. Rogers shook it firmly, and offered a small smile. Neither really trusted the other, but Rogers at least was willing to try; there wasn’t much choice, anyway. He was going to keep an eye on Loki, regardless.

When it came to Barton, Fury decided to sit him and Loki in a room together as well, and watch the whole thing through a one-way window, with the door locked to prevent either from leaving too soon. Thor was with him and ready to pounce into action in case either Loki or Barton decided to start something.

‘Tense’ didn’t even begin to describe the atmosphere in the room once Barton and Loki were in it. They sat opposite to each other, a good distance away. Barton had his arms crossed, and trying to knock Loki out with his scowl. Loki in turn was looking annoyingly haughty, eyeing Barton as if he was scum of the earth. Fury and Thor were watching the scene nervously.

“I don’t like you,” Barton began after a good few minutes of silence.

A smile crept slowly on Loki’s lips; he looked venomous. “I don’t like you either.”

“Good,” Barton scoffed. “There, settled. Can we leave now?” he looked towards the window, behind which he knew Fury was watching. The door remained locked, however.

“Fucking hell,” Barton muttered under his breath. “Okay, fine. Listen here, you megalomaniac,” he glared at Loki. “I’m not just gonna flip a switch and start liking you.”

Loki snorted. “I’d gut you if you did.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Barton looked sour. “But I’ve got better things to do than sit here trying to make small-talk with you. You stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours, deal?”

“I’d be glad if I never saw you again,” Loki sneered. “Fine by me.”

“Good?” Barton asked the window again. Fury rolled his eye and pressed the intercom button.

“You can’t just stay out of each other's’ way, you’re meant to be in a team,” Fury spat into the mike.

Barton groaned.

“Alright,” Loki said. “How about this: interact with me as little as possible, and I might not _intentionally_ kill you in action. Deal?”

“Deal,” Barton growled. “Just stay out of my arrows’ way.”

Fury and Thor glanced at each other.

“This might be the best we can get,” Fury sighed. Thor looked a bit deflated.

“Well, better than nothing?”

Fury rubbed his forehead.

“At least they’re not going to actively try to kill each other,” he huffed. “I _hope_.”

 

A few days later Fury called everyone involved in the robot plan to a meeting, and since Banner wasn’t included, he decided to take a little break from the base. It was a while since he’d seen Stark, and he was getting kind of stressed out being so engulfed in SHIELD business.

He rang Stark, who sounded surprised but pleased to hear from him, and invited him over even before Banner had time to ask if he could drop by. Banner smiled to himself once the call ended. He had no idea if Stark thought he had been involved in Operation Lori or not, but at least he seemed happy to meet him again.

 

“Brucie!” Tony grinned as Banner entered his penthouse. “Good to see you. A drink?”

“Uh, no thank you.”

“I’ve got tea.”

“Well, in that case maybe…”

“Coming right up! Jarvis, pop the kettle.”

Bruce sat down on the sofa and Tony joined him very soon with a glass of wine in one hand and a steaming cup of tea in the other. He handed the hot drink to his friend, who took it with a smile.

“What brings you to civilization?” Tony asked.

“Well, actually I was called in,” Bruce smiled nervously, and Tony saw the tiny bit of annoyance in his face that was always present during certain circumstances.

“SHIELD?”

“Yeah,” Bruce sighed. “They needed… well, they need anything they can get right now.”

“I wish I cared,” Tony sniffed. “Frankly, I’m so done with the whole lot.”

“I understand,” Bruce nodded, staring into his tea. “Steve was very adamant about everything being more… morally correct from now on. Threatened to walk out if… you know.”

“That’s Steve, alright,” Tony sipped his wine.

“Mind you, I would do that, too,” Bruce said, glancing at him. “The Other Guy didn’t like what they did, either.”

“Oh?” Tony grinned. “Please tell me you wrecked at least something of Fury’s.”

“Uh, no,” Bruce smiled wanly. “Sorry.”

“Ah well, can’t have it all,” Tony smirked. “So, what do they need you for? Should I be worried?”

“They’re not going after you or your tech anymore,” Bruce said, and Tony was a bit relieved. “They’ve decided to do what they can on their own. That’s why I’m in, and that’s why Thor and Coulson flew off to talk Jane Foster and Eric Selvig into helping, as well. They, uh, refused.”

“Wow,” Tony raised his brows. “What are they trying to accomplish?”

“You know I can’t tell you,” Bruce sipped his tea. “But I promise to let you know if they try something immoral again.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Tony huffed. “Anyway… what have they done with Loki?”

Bruce glanced up from his tea and Tony tried to stay as aloof as possible. Not like he cared. Not like he wanted to know. Just a casual remark.

“He’s still around,” Bruce shrugged. “I’m working with him, actually. Scans, tests, stuff like that. Trying to work out how his magic works.”

Tony stared. That was exactly what he had needed to do all along – that’s what Spellblock was for. Only he didn’t have anything to test it on except a data from a while back, while Bruce apparently had it all.

“That’s just not fair,” Tony said and sank into his chair. “You know that’s my area.”

“Everything’s your area,” Bruce smirked. “But I know. I’m sorry. It’s very fascinating stuff, and he knows a lot about magic.”

“You talk about magic?”

“Among other things,” Bruce said evasively. “Magic, science, the different realms... you.”

Tony almost spit out his wine at this.

“ _Me?!”_

Bruce shrugged. “You’re the only thing we have in common, and I feel like I need to talk to him about something. You know how it is – he’s wary of me, and I’m not entirely comfortable with him, so…”

“So you just decided to laugh at me on your breaks?” Tony huffed. “I’m so glad to be of service.”

“Nobody’s laughing at you,” Bruce sighed with a dismissive hand wave.

“Yeah, right.”

“No, really,” Bruce looked at him seriously. “Loki never says a bad word about you, and doesn’t really talk about… the Operation. It’s just… I don’t know, common ground.”

“That makes me feel _so much_ better,” Tony’s voice was heavy with sarcasm and bitterness.

“Please, Tony, don’t take it badly,” Bruce sighed, closing his eyes and inhaling the steaming scent of his tea. A tell-tale sign of strained nerves, and Tony decided that maybe he shouldn’t push it. He didn’t want his penthouse destroyed _again_. “I don’t know what he really thinks – as if he’d tell anyone – but I think he got to know you quite well during the… you know. He noticed stuff, and I don’t know… we talk. He becomes more receptive to the scans and stuff when we talk.”

“You’re bonding over me,” Tony rolled his eyes. “How lovely. No need to send me gift baskets.”

Bruce smiled wanly.

“You do realize he’s probably just playing you,” Tony had to note. Bruce shrugged.

“If he is, it’s not too bad. Work gets done in any case.”

Tony stared at his friend. _Not too bad?_

“Bruce, he’s the god of lies and mischief, prince of chaos, whatever else – and you say it’s _not too bad_? You don’t know what he’s planning!”

“To write your biography?” Bruce chuckled and shook his head. “He’s not asking questions about me. He’s not trying to rile me up. We’re both on tiptoes in each other’s company, except when we have something to talk about. And that something is you. I’m not telling him anything embarrassing about you, don’t worry.”

Tony didn’t know what to say, so he threw his arms in the air and groaned loudly.

“I heard you almost got mugged,” Banner commented, then, sipping his tea and watching Tony over the rim of the cup.

“Huh?” Tony stopped exasperatedly rubbing his face and looked at his friend. “Oh, yeah, well, that’s a while ago now. Who told you- oh. _Right_.” He went to fill his wine glass, but came back with a big tumbler of Scotch instead.

“You shouldn’t take your dates on shady alleys,” Bruce smiled. Tony rolled his eyes.

“It wasn’t shady. Just a bit empty. Could happen to anyone!”

“Well, maybe next time just give the thugs your wallet and be done with it,” Bruce shrugged calmly. “Sometimes it’s better to flee than fight.”

“Yes, _mom_ ,” Tony huffed. “But I totally could’ve taken them down if they hadn’t got that lucky punch in the head in. The cops were nearby, so it’s all good.”

“Uh,” Bruce glanced at him and then back to his tea. “They weren’t, actually.”

“What?”

“Well, you _were_ with Loki,” the doctor reminded. “He took them down. One of them is braindead now. Apparently, Fury had a fit about it.”

Tony stared. He had tried so hard not to think about anything Lori-related since the reveal that he’d forgotten about the whole thing. Now that he was reminded of the situation, however, he remembered Lori’s oddly assured behavior at the time, the way she had grabbed the mugger, her ice-cold glare… the pieces were falling into place, and he groaned.

“Please stop collapsing my worldview, thanks very much,” he pulled his hair. “Just let me have this one. _The cops were nearby_.”

“Okay,” Bruce smiled into his tea.

They were silent for a while.

“Fury had a fit, huh?” Tony said, then, unable to help himself.

“M-hm,” Bruce nodded with a lopsided smile. “I also heard Thor had a hard time understanding why. So what if a few thugs saw a classy lady beat their friends into a pulp?”

Tony snorted before he could stop himself, and they both laughed at the sheer madness of it all. Tony had no clue how to feel about any of it, so he settled to directing the conversation elsewhere. He and Bruce had a great time talking about everything and nothing, science and fiction. A few hours later Bruce was out of the door, and Tony was once more left on his own.

He tried very hard to ignore everything he’d been told about Loki, but the thoughts entered his brain anyway. Thor had said Loki was fond of him, Bruce said he talked about him; he hated himself when these little facts made him feel a bit pleased, and wanted to throw up when he wondered if Loki missed him - when he tried to think if he missed Loki, he had to grab the wine bottle from the table.

“I’ll be unavailable for the rest of the day,” he told Jarvis.

“What shall I say if anyone asks?”

“Tell them I’m working.”

Drinking while tinkering with his suits could be called working, surely. At least it beat being sober and thinking too much about his fucked-up relationships.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos and comments! I'd love to reply to you all, but I've been busy with work and writing this fic, of course. Just know you're awesome and I appreciate you all! <3


	16. The Battle

“I’m out of my damn mind,” Tony muttered a few days after Bruce’s visit. He’d pulled up footage of Lori, and was slouching on the sofa, watching all of it on loop while cradling his third whiskey. He’d justified this pastime by telling himself he was looking for clues about Loki’s magic, and the way it worked, but he didn’t actually believe his own reasoning.

In the end, he had to admit to himself that he just wanted to see Lori again.

The last couple of days had been kind of rough. There was a rumor going around that Pepper was dating someone, but she hadn’t said anything to Tony, and he certainly wasn’t going to ask her. He tried to be happy for her, but he couldn’t help being a bit bitter - she was apparently moving on with her life, while he was still wallowing in whatever mess this was.

He watched footage from the charity party. Lori had looked stunning. He watched their moment on the balcony, and his chest ached. The way she had behaved, the odd surrender and softening of her face when they kissed… it looked so real. He had to pause the recording. It looked like she… _he…_ had actually felt something.

“No way,” Tony scoffed, but couldn’t tear his eyes off of her face. “Just a damn good liar. Right, Jarv?”

“I couldn’t say, sir.”

“Of course,” Tony mumbled into his glass. He stared at Lori, and remembered every small bit of her. The way she laughed, the softness of her hair, the mischievous spark in her eyes when she joked with him.

“I miss her like hell,” he blurted out, staring at the image, never blinking. “She was everything I could’ve wanted.”

Silence reigned the room.

“What’s wrong with me,” Tony huffed, downing his drink. Jarvis said nothing. “It’s not really even her. It’s just lies. It’s _Loki_.” He rubbed his face with his hand, having never felt so torn in his life. Thor’s words echoed in his head, the odd look in Bruce’s eyes when he’d talked about Loki kept coming back to him.

He skipped to his last meeting with Lori, the one where everything had fallen apart. He paused right at the moment after he’d blasted her, and Loki had looked at him with those eyes; the shock and hurt were so visible on his face that Tony felt physically sick. They were Lori’s eyes, they were familiar, and he missed looking into them.

“Jarv,” Tony muttered. “I hate myself, you know that?”

“Why is that, sir?”

“Because I fucking fell in _love_ with _Loki_ ,” Tony managed to grunt. Jarvis had nothing so say to that.

 

“So, ready for a few more tests?” Banner asked casually as he was once again spending an afternoon with Loki in the science department about two weeks into planning the robot-acquiring operation.

“Are there options?” Loki asked drily. Banner’s mouth twitched in a small smile.

“I guess not.”

“Have you actually gotten any useful information out of me?” Loki arched a brow haughtily.

“Depends on what you consider ‘useful’,” Banner shrugged. “I think I have a better understanding of magic, at least. And I have been able to tune some equipment to detect it. Well, some of it.”

“Indeed?” Loki looked actually surprised. “Unexpected.”

Banner gave him half a shrug and a quarter of a smile. “I’m not completely useless on my own. Although I’ll admit, when we were tracking the Tesseract way back when, the progress was faster. Tony’s good at pushing you to the limits.”

“I’m sure,” Loki replied, his demeanor mellowing.

“I went to see him the other day,” Banner remarked while preparing his scanners. “It was good to catch up after such a while.”

“Was it?”

Loki was clearly trying to mask his curiosity.

“It was,” Banner nodded. “He can be a pain, but he knows when to stop.”

“How was he?”

“Fine enough, I suppose,” Banner replied. “Not very happy with SHIELD, as you’d imagine. I think that bridge has been thoroughly burned. Not that I’m surprised. Cast an illusion for me, please?”

Loki picked up a bottle of water, and made it look like a shinbone. Banner was unperturbed, and ran his tests. He could tell Loki was dying to ask something, but either his pride or his stubbornness stopped him.

“He didn’t talk about the Operation much,” Banner went on. “But it did come as a surprise to him that it wasn’t the police force who saved him when you two got mugged.”

“He hadn’t pieced that together before?” Loki blinked in surprise. “And here I thought he was smart.”

“Oh, well,” Banner chuckled. “I don’t think he wanted to think about that stuff too much.”

“Hmm,” Loki lowered his eyes and the illusion faded. Banner went to examine the readings, and they were silent until Banner got a call.

“It’s Fury,” he sighed. “Something’s come up. Let’s go.”

Banner and Loki hurried towards their usual meeting place, and met Rogers on the way. He nodded to them, and burst into the room with a cautious Banner and a suspicious Loki in tow. “What’s the situation, sir?”

Fury had called all of the Avengers in, and they were all gathered there, eyes on the Director.

“Situation is robots in Manhattan,” Fury replied. The room was calm, but the tension of upcoming battle was so thick one could taste it. “Mister Fantastic has requested our help, so you’re up.”

“Why aren’t we already on the way? _Sir_ ,” Rogers looked annoyed in the most polite way.

“You will be, soon,” Fury’s glower was very impressive, “but you will note that this is the first time you’re going out as a team… with the new lineup.”

Everyone froze momentarily and turned their eyes on Loki. Barton especially looked doubtful. Thor picked up on this, and stood up for his brother.

“Loki can fight, even if his magic isn’t of much use to him in battle right now,” Thor assured them before Fury could say a thing. “He’s still very strong and agile.”

“And he’s going to have a chance to prove it,” Fury directed his steely gaze on Loki, whose blank expression never faltered. “Loki, Coulson will show you the armory. You’ll need a weapon. Thor, he’s your responsibility. Banner, if he makes one wrong move…”

Banner merely waved his hand in acquiescence and pinched the bridge of his nose. Loki gulped inaudibly.

“Now, this doesn’t mean we’re giving up on the robot plan,” Fury said. “Once you’ve cleared the area of civilians, capture one of those walking tin cans. Romanoff, you take the EMP gun. Test the power levels in action.”

“Does it work?” Romanoff raised a brow.

“Let’s hope so,” Fury retorted. “Tests have given good results, but there hasn’t been time to perfect it.”

Romanoff nodded in silence.

“Get ready, time is of the essence,” Fury frowned, and Coulson whisked Loki away at once to pick himself a weapon while the others rushed to gear up and get the quinjet ready.

 

Soon they were all seated tight in the quinjet, Romanoff behind the wheel and Fury on the radio.

 _“… Doom's servants all over the place,”_ his voice said. _“Neutralize the threat, make sure civilians get to safety. Minimal collateral damage, please.”_

“Shouldn’t this be the Fantastic Four’s game?” Barton grumbled. “I hate Doom's robot guards. I hate Doom.”

 _“It is_ ,” Fury said. “ _Mister Fantastic contacted us himself. This attack on the city is nothing but a distraction – Doom is elsewhere, hoping to do whatever he needs to do while engaging the Four in the NYC. The Four are on him, but they need someone to take care of the bots in the meantime.”_

“Great,” Barton muttered.

“It’s quite near Stark Tower,” Romanoff remarked. Glances were exchanged.

 _“It is indeed,”_ Fury said darkly. _“Expect Iron Man. Do not expect any help. Remember, he is not your teammate, and will not cooperate with you unless he wants to.”_

“He didn’t do that even when he _was_ a part of us,” Barton grinned. Banner smiled wanly in his seat.

 _“Good luck,”_ Fury said and ended the transmission.

“Right,” The Captain said. “Black Widow, you and me will be taking care of the civilians. Hawkeye, cover us. Banner… we’ll call you if needed. Thor and Loki…” he looked at the gods who looked back. Thor was obviously itching to fight, but Loki was unreadable. “You are to engage the bots on the ground,” Rogers continued. “You’ll be able to stand up to them I hope, but be careful of their attacks – they are pretty strong, and have effective weapons.” He looked at Loki especially, knowing that his strength wasn’t at Thor’s level anymore.

“Understood, Captain,” Thor grinned. Loki merely nodded and weighed the long spear he had chosen from the armory. In addition he had selected a set of throwing knives and two daggers (which he had complained about to Coulson; apparently, they were inferior Midgard quality).

“Good,” the Captain nodded. “Prepare for action, everybody. Good luck.”

 

Goddamn robots swarming in the near vicinity of his goddamn tower. Honestly, where were the Fantastic Four when you needed them?

Tony was flying towards the first bots he could see, starting from his tower. He wasn’t about to let any of them get near. When he saw the reality of the situation, though, he hovered above the scene and allowed himself a moment of doubt. There were a _lot_ of them, attacking anything in sight mindlessly.

“Oh good,” he muttered to himself. “Enough for anyone who wants to join.” He briefly considered just going home and letting some gaggle of heroes take care of the problem – the place would probably swarm with as many heroes as there were villains, soon. But then again, he was in a punching kind of mood. Ever since the whole Lori incident he hadn’t been able to let off steam properly. Gym didn’t help, venting to Jarvis or Pepper didn’t help, and even his precious booze didn’t help. This could only be solved through raw violence.

“Let’s party,” he said and dashed down towards the bots. He dodged the shots they fired at him and landed with force, immediately blasting a few of them right in the chest. He took a hold of another and bent its metal arm with a satisfying crunch. Oh yeah, this was the thing. He let the battle consume him until he couldn’t think of anything else but smashing in some robot faces; so what if he occasionally imagined them having Fury’s face?

“Company has arrived, sir,” Jarvis informed him, and looking up, Tony saw the familiar form of a quinjet.

“Great,” Tony grumbled and kept on fighting. He noticed Cap and the assassins landing first with their chutes; Bruce was nowhere to be seen – too early to call the Hulk in, probably. Thor landed with ground-cracking force and swirled his hammer. Amid his fighting Tony had time to see a flash of green, and Loki was standing next to his brother, holding a long staff.

“Son of a bitch,” Tony muttered and tore out some cords from a robot’s neck. The brothers glanced at each other and ran into the swarm of robots. Tony lost sight of them, but could see robot parts flying around soon after; Mjölnir was merciless.

The stream of robots seemed endless. Tony focused on his own thing, but his mind tried very hard to drift onto other things. What were they thinking, taking Loki along? Were they so desperate to fill an opening in the Avengers team? Surely there were others more suitable. Spider-Man must have sent a million applications by now. And how could they trust Loki, anyway? He’d probably double cross them all. And kill innocents while at it. Fury was clearly losing his touch.

“I have detected a power leakage,” Jarvis announced to Tony’s dismay. “A puncture at the back.”

“Goddamn,” Tony hissed. “ A lucky shot from one of the bastards. How bad is it?”

“Power at 43 percent, going down fast” Jarvis notified Tony.

“Fuck me,” Tony muttered. “And these things just keep coming.”

The bots didn’t seem to really have a goal. They were just smashing things and causing as much damage as possible without any destination. It was odd, but unacceptable nevertheless. Goddamn Doom. Thinking he was so good with his little robot friends, trying to hack his systems. Tony was surprised Fury hadn’t yet hired that guy to make stuff for SHIELD.

Suddenly an explosion rocked the street and before Tony had time to register anything, he was buried under rubble. He began digging himself out, but Jarvis informed him that he’d lost the right gauntlet. That was a bit of a bummer, but he still had one hand and both legs; he got to work and managed to move enough concrete off himself to see daylight again. Unfortunately that also meant seeing more bots. And they saw him.

“I wish you guys were at least sentient,” Tony said as he blasted a bot away from himself. “Might be able to negotiate or something.”

The robots were attracted by the blasts, and soon there were ten of them around Tony. It wouldn’t have been a problem otherwise, but with only one functional arm it was very difficult to keep the situation under control. Too often he saw metal hands on his armor, shots hit him too often; he needed to physically shake off a few one too many times.

“Power at 24 per cent,” Jarvis announced.

“Just a bit longer,” Tony said through gritted teeth and shot at a bot. Two jumped on him immediately, and he heard a horrible rending noise as one of them began to peel off the outer layer of his backpiece.

“Son of a…”

Suddenly something struck the bot tearing at his back, and it was tossed off; the other jerked back with a long knife embedded in its eye socket, sparks flying from the hole. Tony turned around to see Loki wield his staff extremely effectively; he was dealing with three bots at once, and looked almost like he was dancing with them. He was very fluent in his movement, and for the briefest of moments Tony was reminded of that night when he had danced with Lori to _La Luna_. The song started playing in his head and the whole mess made him angry.

“You stay away,” Tony barked, not really knowing what else to do. He didn’t want Loki anywhere near him, especially not since his feelings were a twisted, writhing mess - but then again, he had just saved his ass. “I’ll have to blast you otherwise.”

“You have done so several times already,” Loki scoffed and landed a good kick on a robot’s face, using his staff as leverage. “It hasn’t worked. I wouldn’t try again, if I were you.”

“Whatever,” Tony said sourly. He kept on fighting, and his suit’s power kept on getting lower. Without realizing it, he had drifted closer to Loki, and they were now unwittingly covering each other’s backs. Tony hated the situation, but at the same time had to admit that it was working rather well. No bot could get close to either, and although Loki sometimes used his suit as a bouncing board – which Tony was _not_ okay with – they worked pretty well together.

Suddenly there was a familiar roar in the distance, and Tony knew the Hulk had joined the fun.

“Took a while,” he hummed. He supposed that either the situation was dire enough for the Hulk to make an appearance, or then the civilians were cleared out and the Other Guy was able to rampage without worry of innocent victims. Loki froze briefly at the sound, and Tony smirked; he probably didn’t have fond memories of the Hulk.

The fight went on forever – or would’ve done so, but Tony’s suit decided otherwise.

“Damn,” he hissed as the last of the blasting power was spent. The suit started to feel extremely sluggish, and Tony knew he was on the last light. All he could do now was to endure the blows; he had very little means to do anything else. Or, well, he could’ve used all the reserves, but he did need to get home afterwards and there were no Avenging buddies to carry him.

“No time to stop, Stark,” Loki called; of course he had noticed the change in pace. The bots kept on coming.

“Yeah, well,” Tony retorted. “Too bad.” He saw Loki glance at him with a frown, and seemed to realize what was going on. He sliced at a bot with force and was by Tony’s side in an instant.

“I told you –”

“Shut up,” Loki said and grabbed his arm. The world lurched in a very unpleasant way and suddenly Tony noticed he was standing atop of a nearby building, looking over the fight. He looked at Loki, who was watching him.

“You’re of no use down there,” the god breathed. “Stay here and try not to attract attention.” Loki looked a bit disheveled, and actually pretty tired. His hair wasn’t as pristine as Tony was used to seeing it, and his eyes were afire from the battle, his breathing heavier than it should’ve been. The look he gave Tony made him glad that he still had the visor down; it made him feel funny. Without saying anything more Loki shimmered and disappeared, and Tony saw him appear on the street among the rampaging robots.

Tony watched the carnage. The explosion seemed to have been the only real property damage during the whole battle – sure, buildings had suffered all kinds of damage, but nothing huge. He could see the Hulk waving robots around in the distance, he noticed Cap’s shield flying about, and Thor hammering the bots with terrifying force. He couldn’t see Clint or Natasha, but knew they were there. He turned his eyes on Loki, who was fighting alone where the two of them had been a minute ago. He swirled, pounced, lashed; he used not only his staff but a set of throwing knives which he wielded with terrifying accuracy. It really looked like some kind of a morbid dance, with the way he moved.

“Jarvis,” Tony said, his eyes still fixed on the lean god far below. “Play _La Luna_ , will you.”

“Very well, sir,” the AI replied and soon music filled the helmet. It was strange how well Loki’s movements went with the rhythm. Tony didn’t think anymore; he merely watched.

Eventually the bots lessened and lessened until they were clearly running out. Tony watched Loki fight to the last, and there was a moment when the remaining bots on his spot ganged up on him; it looked quite dire at first, but then Thor appeared out of nowhere and the brothers finished the machines with efficiency. It was obvious the two had decades, or more likely centuries, of fighting experience together, with the way they always seemed to know where the other was and what he was doing. It looked like Thor was covering Loki’s back more than Loki was Thor’s, and the thunderer seemed to pay extra attention to his brother’s safety.

Tony saw that the fight was coming to an end, and took off before anyone could pay attention to him. He wasn’t needed, and he didn’t want to face any of them right now. He got home just when the suit ran out of even the last of the last, went to the bar and picked up a glass, decided he didn’t need it, grabbed a bottle, slumped on the couch, and drank in silence. Green eyes haunted him every time he closed his own.

 

“Right, let’s separate a few of them into a group if possible,” Rogers called through the radio. “Thor and Loki, try to round up a few and meet me near the landing spot. Widow and Hawkeye, cover us - Widow, be ready with that gun.”

“I’ve tested it on a few bots,” Romanoff replied. “The power settings are way off, still.”

“We’ll try to manage,” Rogers grunted, smashing a robot’s face in with his shield. “The Hulk will hunt down the bigger hordes, so let’s round up the few left here.”

Soon enough they all reunited on the field, with Thor and Loki pushing a group of robots closer to Rogers and the others. They met in the middle of a street, with the three of them keeping six robots as contained between them as they could. Bots would occasionally try to approach them from outside, but Barton was sharp and shot them down before they ever reached his teammates. Romanoff snuck closer, preparing the EMP gun.

“Time to put it to the test, Widow,” Rogers called. He, Thor, and Loki had managed to herd the six bots to a small area, and did their best to prevent them from leaving without damaging them too much.

“Shooting in three,” Romanoff said calmly, “two… one.”

The gun blasted out a bullet which latched onto a bot, and sent a violent pulse through it. It jerked oddly, convulsed for a while, but never stopped moving. Instead, it seemed to lose all sense of self-preservation, which was saying a lot considering how the bots had been behaving so far. It dashed in a single direction without any thought whatsoever, ignoring everything. The other bots were confused by this, but also kind of encouraged, and attacked the first person on sight.

Two went for Thor, one for Rogers, and the rest, including the crazed one, for Loki. Rogers tossed the robot off of himself easily enough, but since he knew he shouldn’t harm it too much, it was hard to keep it away.

“Thor!” Rogers called when he saw Loki fall down under the force of three robots ganging up on him. Thor noticed, and roared in rage, sending a bot flying and punching the other away. Being closest to Loki, Thor pulled off one of the robots attacking him, having to keep fighting it to keep it away as the two he’d just gotten rid of returned with vengeance. Rogers ran to Loki and grabbed the second machined servant.

“Widow, how’s that gun?!”

“Move aside,” came the ever-calm voice from their earpieces. Rogers tossed the robot in her line of view, and she shot at it at the same time as the crazed one was trying to gauge Loki’s eyes out.

“Hey, Emo God,” Barton’s voice rang in all of their ears, but it was clear to all who his words were aimed at, “once this shot hits, you better toss that thing aside. You know what’s coming.”

And without further warning, Hawkeye’s arrow flew through the air and struck the bot in the head. The bot wasn’t too phased, but Loki knew what was up; with the last of his too quickly fading strength, he threw the robot off of himself and rolled aside - and sure enough, the bot’s head exploded not long after.

“Ha, sucker,” Barton snickered. “Put that in your metal pipe and smoke it.”

Meanwhile, Romanoff had adjusted the power of the gun and shot at another robot, which had convulsed as well and fallen down lifelessly.

“Keep them occupied,” she muttered to the others. “I’m going to decrease the power until we get one that’s half-dead.”

“Make it fast,” Rogers replied while fighting. Loki was fine, but clearly more tired than the others. Thor and the Captain were trying to engage the rest of the robots and give Loki a bit of a rest - not that any of them would ever admit that was the case.

Two more robots succumbed to Romanoff’s shots, until the third one, who fell down but kept trying to move.

“We’ve got it,” she announced. “Destroy the rest.”

And they gladly did. Barton blew up one, and Thor took great pleasure hammering another’s head in. Rogers finished the ones laying down swiftly, just in case. Once that was done, he and Thor picked up the sluggish bot; Romanoff brought the quinjet down, and they loaded the robot on it.

“Great work, everyone,” Rogers sighed once everything had calmed down. The Hulk’s roars had ended, and SHIELD had been called in to do some clean-up and find Banner. “Mission accomplished. No civilians harmed. Let’s head back.”

 

A couple of hours after they’d returned with the robot - which had been immediately transported to a cell - Romanoff came to get Thor and Loki; the Avengers were gathering in the rec room for a post-mission dinner and hangout. Thor was more than happy to join, while Loki wasn’t all that excited. She gave him no choice, however, and soon they were all seated together comfortably.

Well, as comfortably as they could. None of them had made it through the battle completely unscathed, and were more or less tired. Rogers and Romanoff were the ones most unaffected. Barton had a bruise or a few, Banner was exhausted, and Loki had suffered cuts on his face. They were already healing, but still visible. Thor had a strange welt on his arm, which he couldn’t help but pick and frown at.

“It’s healing slow,” he commented when Loki tutted at him once again. “I don’t understand. All my other battlewounds are all but disappeared by now.”

“What hit you?” Romanoff asked, peering at the cut.

“I think I got shot,” Thor shrugged. “It’s definitely not a knife wound or such, I know those more than well.” He gave his brother a sideways glance, and Loki couldn’t help but grin.

“Did we recover any of the guns?” Banner asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I’m sure the cleanup crew did,” Romanoff nodded. “You think there was something new about those?”

“Would make sense,” Banner sighed. “Clearly there was something that cut through even Thor’s skin.” He eyed them all. “Did Tony show up at all?”

“He did,” Romanoff replied. “I didn’t see much of him, but he was there.”

“His suit got damaged,” Loki spoke for the first time since entering.

“What?” Banner looked confused. “By some lowly robots? Is he alright?”

Loki nodded. “Managed to leave the scene.”

The doctor nodded in relief. Romanoff frowned.

“His suit shouldn’t be that easily defeated by Doom's minions,” she stated. “What happened?”

Loki shrugged.

“Well, I’m sure the gun and the bot will be examined thoroughly,” Barton yawned and stretched his arms. “Who’s up for some Jenga?”

Thor was, and Romanoff shrugged. Rogers suggested playing cards instead, but Barton had no intention to play with Romanoff - apparently, her pokerface was too good. So the three of them settled on Jenga, and first to teaching the game to Thor.

Loki remained seated where he was, in the corner of the room on a comfy sofa, sipping a hot drink. Banner didn’t want to join the game, either, and came to sit next to him.

“How was Tony?” he asked Loki, who looked a bit hesitant.

“Fine enough, I suppose.”

“Did he join the fight with us? My memories are a bit hazy…”

“He fought his own fight,” Loki replied. “I only met him briefly.”

Banner nodded. “He didn’t try to… you know, attack you?”

“No,” Loki huffed. “I think he wanted to, but knew I wasn’t there to fight him.”

“I heard you did good today,” Banner switched topics and caught Loki off guard. “How did it feel, fighting with us?”

“Does it matter?” Loki fixed him with a cool stare. “I have no choice, either way. I enjoyed destroying those robots, but did I enjoy being in a team with you lot? You know better than to ask.”

“Fair enough,” Banner nodded. “Sometimes I forget you’re not here by your own will. Sorry.” With that, he gave Loki a brief smile and went to get some more food. Loki watched the people in the room, arms crossed and expression unreadable.


	17. The Attack

“Tony,” Pepper strode into the room, wearing a very smart pantsuit and a very worried expression.

“What’s up?” Tony faked a smile. He wasn’t feeling too great, and her face told him there were no good news on the way.

“Well,” she looked oddly hesitant. “I’m not really sure. There’s just something… odd going on.”

“Odd? Odd in what way? Odd in the ‘lights keep getting turned on and off’ way, which I assure you is just Jarvis being pedantic, or odd in the ‘I think SHIELD is messing with us’ way?”

“I don’t know?” Pepper shrugged apologetically. “More in the ‘an employee is acting slightly off, and it’s weird’ kind of way.”

“And who would that be?”

“Roger,” she sighed. “He’s not himself. It’s like he’s not concentrating. It’s unlike him.”

“Roger?” Tony tried his hardest to connect a face to the name. “... who?”

“Roger Fields,” Pepper pursed her lips. “He substituted for me during my holiday, remember? You’ve worked with him, Tony.”

“Oh yeah,” Tony replied, knowing who she meant - but still not really remembering the guy. “Didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on him, Jarv?”

“You did, sir,” the AI said. “I have collected records of all his actions here since that day.”

“Anything strange?”

“He comes to work approximately at the same time every day, and leaves late. He does his duties effectively and well. Today, however, he arrived later than usual and seems to be forgetful of his daily duties.”

“It’s like he’s too distracted,” Pepper filled in. “I asked him if something was wrong, but he said he’d never been better. I’ve caught him daydreaming, Tony. He’s the most down-to-earth man I’ve ever met. I’ve never seen him like this. I didn’t know if I should’ve just brushed it off, but considering everything that’s been going on lately...”

Tony nodded in approval.

“Where is he now, Jarv?”

Jarvis gave them a visual. Fields was walking along a corridor near Tony’s workshop, which made Tony frown very deeply. 

“What’s he doing there?” Pepper breathed. “His work shouldn’t even take him on that floor.”

They watched as Fields stopped near the security doors leading closer to the workshop. He glanced around, and began tinkering with the door.

“Jarvis?” Tony sighed.

“He will not get in, sir. Shall I alert the guards?”

“Please do.”

Tony and Pepper watched as guards detained Fields, who surprisingly had to be dragged away screaming.

“No! I have to do it! Please! I can’t let her down, she’s my everything!” they heard his breaking voice through the speakers.

Pepper looked distraught. Tony glanced at her - if she was reacting this strongly, then the behavior they had just witnessed must have been seriously out of character for Fields.

“You can go,” Tony told her. “I’ll deal with this. You make sure things keep running - Fields isn’t coming back to work today.”

Pepper nodded. “Don’t be too hard on him. There’s something going on with him.”

 

Tony didn’t have actual cells installed in his tower, but he had fashioned a Hulk-proof room when Bruce had stayed with him. There hadn’t been much use for it, luckily, but Bruce had appreciated the effort. His security staff had thrown Fields in, and the man was sat in a corner, hugging his knees and rocking back and forth. 

Tony watched him through the narrow floor-to-ceiling windows of the room before asking Jarvis to open the communications between the rooms.

“So,” he began, and Fields jolted into attention, looking around and noticing Tony. His eyes widened and he scrambled to the windows, looking kind of pathetic.

“Mr. Stark!” he exclaimed. “Please! You have to let me go!”

“Yeah, no,” Tony crossed his arms. Fields looked a bit ill. His pupils were wide and his cheeks had a pinkish hue to them. “What were you doing near my lab?”

Fields gulped. “I just… I needed… I just wanted…”

“Yes?”

“Could you help me?” Fields leaned his hands on the wall, getting as close to the window as he could. “I need schematics, or… or maybe a piece of your suit? A powersource? Please. I need something, or I can’t… she’ll be disappointed!”   
Tony would’ve laughed if he hadn’t been so utterly stunned.

“First of all, fuck no,” Tony replied. Fields looked actually dismayed, as if he had assumed Tony would go for it. “And second, what the hell, Fields? Who wants my schematics?”

“I can’t tell you,” Fields said. Tony rolled his eyes.

“You’re the worst spy I’ve ever seen,” he sighed. “You’ve already given away too much. You might just as well tell me the rest of it, because you’re not getting out of here otherwise.”

“No! Please!” Fields looked like his life was about to end. “You have to let me go! I can’t be away from her!”

“Okay, who is  _ her _ ?” Tony had to ask. “Come on. Spill the beans.”

“Have you ever been in love, Mr. Stark?”

Tony would rather not have thought about love. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“I am in love,” Fields sighed blissfully. “I never thought I could find someone so perfect so quickly, but I have. It was love at first sight, Mr. Stark. She’s waiting for me! I need to get the schematics, or the powersource!”

Tony had a bad feeling about this.

“And who is your sweetheart?”

“She calls herself Amanda,” Fields replied, “but she told me her real name, because our love is true.” He looked smug, and Tony didn’t bother to ask more. He knew exactly what was going on; Thor’s warning was clear in his mind.

“Right,” Tony huffed. “Why does Amanda want my stuff? It’s very rude of her.”

“She’s not rude!” Fields looked offended. “It’s not for her! She’s a victim, she only wants to find love and live her life peacefully with me! But someone is extorting her.”

“Uh-huh,” Tony raised his brows. “Well… maybe I could help you two. If you tell me who is bothering her, I could do something about it.”

“She told me not to tell anyone! It’s too dangerous.”

“Well, I guess there’s nothing to be done, then,” Tony shrugged and turned away. “I’m sorry your love has to end this way.”

“Wait!” Fields screamed when Tony began walking away. “Please! All I know is that it’s someone called Victor. Please! You have to help me -  _ us _ . She’s everything to me.”

_ Victor?  _ That could not be a coincidence.  _ Doom, you son of a bitch. _ Tony sighed and turned around.

“Thank you,” he raised his thumbs and faked a smile. “I’ll look into this. You stay here for now - for your own safety, of course.”

“No! Mr. Stark!” Fields cried as Tony left him to his own devices. 

“Jarv, we’re gonna take the fight to Doom,” Tony announced grimly as he arrived in his penthouse. “This is going too far. I’m sick of people trying to steal my stuff. I don’t know what Thor’s old flame has to do with this, but it has to end. Gather up all information on Doom - we’re gonna find where he’s hiding.”

 

Banner had been given permission to examine the robot the Avengers had acquired. It could be neutralized with EMP shocks; otherwise, it tried to attack anyone in sight. Banner enjoyed figuring out how the robot worked, but couldn’t help but think that Stark would’ve gotten so much more out of it. Robotics weren’t his specialty.

The SHIELD technical team took over the bot once Banner was done with it, and the good doctor was called to look at the weapons the bots had used. Those were far more interesting to him; the guns, or their ammo, were significantly different to what they were used to seeing from Doom. The radiation readings were off the chart, and Doom was definitely doing something out of the ordinary with them. Thor’s wound had healed, but it had taken a while; this had led them all to think there was magic of some kind at work, and the weapons were definitely infused with  it.

SHIELD scientists were also eager to examine the weapons, but most of them, strangely, found somewhere else to be when Banner entered the scene. Banner didn’t care - he was used to people who knew about his condition being scared and wary, and what some SHIELD lab techs thought about him didn’t phase him much. Two remained, but even they left quietly and quickly when Loki was ordered to join Banner.

“What do you think of this?” Banner asked him as they both stared down at the guns. Loki’s eyes were fixed on them; he reached out for one and hovered his hand over it for a moment before laying his fingers on it and exhaling softly.

“Oh, I recognise this,” he murmured, running his hand lightly over the weapon. 

“What? The weapon?” Banner frowned.

“The signature of the magic woven into it,” Loki glanced at him with a wry smile.

“So it is magic,” Banner rubbed his chin. “I thought as much. The radiation levels…”

“There’s two traces,” Loki said. “One significantly fainter than the other. Does Doom possess magic?”

“So they say,” Banner shrugged. “He seems more technically minded, though, but I guess there’s something a bit more to him.”

“His trace is overpowered,” Loki scoffed. “Either he didn’t pour much of it into this, or it’s weaker in general. I need to talk to Thor.”

“Am I right in guessing this has something to do with that… that Enchantress you once mentioned?”

“Perhaps,” Loki hummed. “It seems to me Doom has found a partner in crime… or become a slave.”

“I don’t think I like either option.”

The news were broken to Thor, and then to Fury, who reacted with the deepest sigh they had heard from him so far. 

 

Romanoff had been on a mission with Barton for two whole weeks since the battle when Fury called a meeting with the rest of the Avengers – and Loki. For Thor, the room felt oddly empty without Romanoff in it; every time he’d been there, she had been present as well. Now there was only the four of them, with Fury and Coulson standing stock-still in the sidelines.

“As you know,” Fury began once they were all settled, “agent Barton has been shadowing Doom and his agents for a while now. Romanoff has been with him the past weeks, following the strange leads the good Doctor leaves.”

“Any news?” Rogers looked alert at once.

“Agent Romanoff has just been in contact,” Fury’s voice had a serious tone which told them all something was going to go down. “They have found a potential compound.”

“And the Fantastic Four…?” Banner inquired seemingly nonchalantly.

“Are on Doom’s trail,” Fury replied, and Rogers’ brows shot up high.

“So Doom’s not in the compound?”

“It would seem not,” Fury crossed his arms. “Mister Fantastic says they’re breathing down on Doom’s neck, but that they can’t spare anyone to do any investigation on other fronts.”

“What is Doom doing?” Rogers frowned.

“You’ll have to ask the Four,” Fury looked slightly disgruntled; clearly the Four weren’t telling him all he wanted to know. Apparently they were refusing to work for SHIELD, and would rather work  _ with  _ them… when convenient. “They assure us they’ve got him under control – or will have in due time – but that someone needs to see what the hell he’s doing in his spare time, and as Barton and Romanoff have already located his place…”

“Understood,” Rogers nodded, ready for action. “When do we leave?”

“Not so fast,” Fury eyed them all. “Here’s the deal: Doom is elsewhere, but according to Barton and Mister Fantastic, he’s been acting differently and doing things he’s never been capable of before. This suggests an accomplice, and we have a pretty good idea who that might be.” He glanced at Thor, who looked grim.

“When do we leave?” Thor repeated the Captain’s question.

“Just let me finish,” Fury exhaled heavily through his nostrils. “Because of this, we have no idea what to expect from the compound. Barton and Romanoff have been unable to get in, and are on their way back. The place is heavily guarded, and so far it looks like brute force is the only way in. However,” he raised his voice a bit when he noticed Thor was about to say something, “we can’t risk losing whatever intel we could get from there. If the Enchantress is there, we don’t want her to escape the moment she hears us knocking. We don’t want her, or any robots, hiding or destroying crucial information. Doom is planning  _ something _ , and we need to know what.”

“Then, what’s the plan?” Rogers seemed confused.

“We’ve got someone who can pose as, say, a robot guard,” Fury’s eye fell on Loki, and everyone else’s gaze followed suit. Loki lifted his brows slowly and met the Director’s stare.

“I could,” Loki replied slowly. “But if Amora is there, she will sense my magic.”

“Can you hold your own against her?” Rogers asked, actually looking concerned.

Loki sucked his teeth. “Currently? I… don’t know.”

“No,” Thor said bluntly. “Amora is powerful, and Loki will need to be at full strength to face her.”

Loki clicked his tongue, but didn’t argue.

“Here’s the plan,” Fury leant on a table. “Loki disguises himself as one of Doom’s robots to gain entry to the compound. We’ll utilize the earpiece once more. The rest of you lie in hiding further, and if needed, force your way in. If Amora isn’t there and Loki’s cover holds, the mission might succeed without using any force.”

“Sounds risky,” Rogers noted and glanced at Loki; whether he was concerned for the god’s safety or his loyalty was anyone’s guess.

“I’ll do it,” Loki shrugged. Everyone was a bit stunned by this reaction, and Fury wasn’t sure if he liked it or not.

“Good,” he settled to saying. “We’ll flesh out the plan once Romanoff and Barton arrive.”

 

Tony had fixed and enforced his suit carefully and well before donning it and flying off towards Doom’s suspected hideout. He and Jarvis had done a good job tracking the guy, with little unintentional help from Fields.

He knew he wasn’t going to single-handedly destroy Doom’s little place and end his antics once and for all; but he was sure he could do some good damage and at least find out more. He was flying over a forest, and wondered if his information had been correct at all; it looked like there was nothing nearby for miles. Finally, he saw it - a plain building amid the trees. It seemed unassuming, but a quick scan told Tony it was well guarded. No matter how he tried to enter, he’d be noticed.

There were large doors on the south side; looked like the place might have once been a warehouse of some sort. There were no windows that he could see, and one door on the roof; he already knew he’d been caught in several monitors. There was a robot guarding the roof, and already it was aiming its gun on him. Tony dodged the inevitable shot, and landed with force; he blasted the robot quickly, and entered the building.

There was no hope of being sneaky in the suit. He was alert as he descended the bleak staircase.

“Jarv, make a map for me as we proceed, will you,” he muttered. “I don’t wanna get lost if I need to exist post-haste.”

His footsteps sounded infernally loud in the silence - the heavy, metallic thuds echoes in the hallway as he left the staircase. It wasn’t long until three armed robot guards ran up to him, ready to shoot.  Tony had been prepared, and didn’t spare his shots. 

“We’ve officially knocked on the door,” he huffed as the blast rocked the hallway and bits of robots clanked around the space. “No sign of Doom yet… or darling  _ Amanda _ .”

He tried to move as fast as he could, looking for doors that might lead to something useful - an office, a lab, a lair… whatever Doom was into. Suddenly there were sirens blaring and lights flashing; the compound was on alert. Tony gritted his teeth - he needed to hurry. They were definitely onto him.

Tony descended another set of stairs, blasting away a good few bots on the way. He arrived in an open area with sturdy doors leading in several directions. They looked secure enough to contain secrets.

But of course, and not surprisingly, the area was well-guarded. Doom’s guard robots swarmed in from all possible directions, and Tony had his work cut out for him as he tried to keep them away and not get cornered. Most of the robots had guns, and Tony took a hit - it didn’t go through, luckily, but it did make a dent on his suit.

“How do they keep hurting,” he wondered aloud to Jarvis. “I’ve enforced this suit!”

“The weapons are very effective,” Jarvis replied. “They seem to cut through more easily than in our past encounters.”

“Great,” Tony grumbled through gritted teeth and blasted the heads off of a few. The robots kept coming and were approaching from behind, as well. Tony retreated towards an empty-looking hallway, destroying all the robots he could. He managed to blast the first row of the robots coming at him, and as they fell they hindered their companions enough for Tony to get a bit ahead. 

He fled to another open space, mercifully empty - save for one robot. Tony raised his gauntlet to blast it away, but the robot dodged surprisingly agilely, and didn’t even try to attack him, behaving in an oddly human and sentient way. Tony was confused, and the momentary lack in alertness cost him. A robot approached from the back, and shot him before he could do a thing.

Whatever hit him, hit him hard. The suit went completely haywire; Jarvis tried to say something, but his voice was distorted and weak before it cut off completely. Tony tried to move, but everything was sluggish and heavy; the power flickered and eventually died. He fell to the ground with a heavy thud, and soon robots were approaching him.

“You get off!” Tony tried to growl at them, but the lifeless suit muffled his voice, and the robots probably didn’t care, anyway. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice swearing, and he managed to see the lone robot he had encountered begin fighting the rest.

It took him a moment to realise that the robot fought exactly like Loki, and it wasn’t long before the illusion shattered and there he was, Loki in flesh and blood, kicking the asses of all robots in sight.

Tony wasn’t sure what was going on, but he found himself hoping Loki would win this fight.

It seemed like the only way out of this predicament.

_ Goddamn Doom. _


	18. The Capture

Tony could only curse under his breath as he watched robot feet walking right in front of his nose. The connection to Jarvis was lost, his suit was lifeless, and the weight of the thing made it almost impossible for him to move. What the hell had they hit him with? He had just reinforced the damn thing! He could hear sounds of fighting; robots were clanking and Loki was making the occasional grunt in the heat of the battle. It was oddly quiet otherwise, now that Tony didn’t have the comforting, silent hum of his suit around him, or Jarvis in his ear. The situation was weird – he had to admit that usually, when everything was functioning properly, his mind was so full of noise anyway that nothing ever felt silent (and afterwards, if he thought back to the fight, his brain supplied a suitable soundtrack for the occasion). Now, however, it was completely silent save for the dull clanking of a spear against metal, or the occasional whoosh of a laser. It was unsettling.

Tony didn’t know what he was expecting, but his heart sank very deep when he heard Loki cry out in something akin to pain, and then a heavy thump against the floor. And the silence got even weirder when Loki was out of the equation. He heard the sounds of metal feet and dragging, a weird kind of metal click, and then a bot walked past him, dragging an unconscious (he assumed, he didn’t care to think about the other option) and bruised Loki after him. Tony couldn’t see where they were going, since he could barely move his head, but the problem was solved when he saw more feet next to him and when metal hands grabbed his armor.

“Hey, get your tin fingers off of me!” he shouted angrily, but of course the bots didn’t listen. His gut wrenched when he heard and felt he robots violently tearing at his armor, bit by bit, almost certainly damaging it beyond repair. “Son of a…!”

But there was nothing Tony could do. The robots peeled out of his armor like he was a banana, and while the situation was awful in every other aspect, at least he was able to move now. He tried to get away the moment he could, but the bots were fast – and many. Cold hands grabbed him none too kindly, and he was partially dragged in the same vague direction as Loki. He thought about fighting, but realized that these guys really packed a punch, and a mere fleshy fist couldn’t harm them in the slightest. It was starting to look a bit dire, and Tony regretted ever trying to get to Doom. The guy was probably on a beach somewhere, laughing.

They arrived at a reinforced door which a robot opened; Tony was thrown in unceremoniously. 

“Does this come with room service?” He had to call after the bots when the door was slammed shut. No reply, of course. Those robots were so boring it wasn’t even funny. He looked around and realized he was in a space which didn’t quite look like a cell – it was more like an empty storage room. The the floor and walls were covered in scratches and stains which looked like old shelving, as well as there being old screw marks on the walls. Great, he wasn’t even worth a proper prison. The walls were dreary gray and there was a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, illuminating the space. At least there was a small air vent near the ceiling, so he wouldn’t choke to death.

Another thing worth noting about the room was that he wasn’t alone in it. This is where they had brought Loki, as well. The god was lying on the floor, face down, clearly out for the count (Tony saw his back rising and falling slightly, which thankfully saved him from having to give CPR or something). Tony wasn’t quite sure what to do – was there something he could do, anyway? Loki was alive, so that was a plus, he guessed. Maybe. He seemed to be his only ally there. He’d probably come to sooner or later. 

Tony decided that the guy was probably fine, pushed aside any emotions he might have had, and began inspecting the room. The door was pretty solid, unfortunately. It was metal, and thick, and there was barely a crack underneath it. The walls looked equally sturdy, and the vent was far too small for anyone to crawl through. What was the point of this whole thing, anyway? He was sure Doom had some cells in the building. Had to have. Why weren’t they there, then? This was hardly a cell, and anyway Doom probably didn’t want to keep two prisoners in one cage. Not very secure. He surmised that this was a temporary holding cell; maybe the bots had just tossed them in there in want of instructions, and Doom would decide what to do with him when he got there.  _ If  _ he got there – where the hell was he now, anyway? Surely people breaking into his bunker warranted a personal visit? 

Tony sat himself beside the wall, and settled to staring at Loki. There was nothing else to look at, and nothing else to do. The god looked mostly intact, but there were some minor cuts on his hands and on his face – from what he could see, anyway; the other half of his face was against the floor, and the other partly covered in messy black hair. He just sat there and waited. He didn’t know how long it took, but eventually a frown appeared on the god’s face and his eyes blinked open. He looked pretty disoriented at first, but then his eyes focused on Tony and he raised himself up on his arms.

“Rise and shine,” Tony said wryly. 

“Stark,” Loki rasped; it wasn’t a question, and neither did it express surprise – it was something like a statement.

“Yeah,” Tony said. “Welcome to Doomsville Makeshift Prisons, population: two.”

Loki frowned at him, clearly not having a clue what he was saying, which pleased Tony immensely. The god sat up and leaned against the opposing wall, still not quite himself. Tony’s eyes were fixed on his neck, and a frown formed on his face.

“Is that the latest fashion in Asgard, or are you just into that sort of thing?” he asked and motioned towards Loki’s neck. The man looked confused for a moment, but then his fingers found his neck and the odd metal collar that was now encircling it. He frowned deeply and tried to pull at the collar and find the lock, or a weak spot, but in vain.

“What is this,” Loki muttered and sounded partly frustrated, partly… scared? Probably not. Disturbed, maybe.

“I don’t know if it suits you,” Tony said nonchalantly. “Doesn’t really go with your fancy Viking gear. Wrong color.”

Loki glared at him.

“Stop being obnoxious,” he hissed. Then he flicked his hand slightly, which did absolutely nothing. Tony watched as his eyes went wide and he stared at his fingers like they were something appalling. He flicked his hand again, and then the other, but nothing happened.

“A problem?” Tony asked. Loki tried to glare at him again, but didn’t quite manage. He seemed a bit distraught.

“Describe this collar to me,” Loki demanded instead. Tony blinked.

“Well, it’s, uh, metal, and sort of smooth, and… that’s pretty much it.”

“Are there no engravings? No markings, or runes?” Loki inquired irritably, all the while feeling the collar with his fingers.

“Not that I can see…” Tony said, and Loki tried to turn the collar around. It didn’t work so well, though – it wasn’t tight enough to look painful, but definitely tight enough to make turning it hard.

“Ah, fuck, let me take a look at it,” Tony sighed and went to the god. Loki gave him a suspicious glance, but said nothing. Tony peered at the thing.

“Move your head, you’re blocking the light,” Tony shooed, and Loki angled his head so that the feeble light from the bulb reached the metal. The collar was very smooth indeed. Very fine work. Barely a sign of welding. Tony moved to examine the back and swept Loki’s hair out of the way, accidentally brushing his fingers against his neck; the god tensed slightly at the touch, and Tony decided to ignore it. The back of the collar was slightly different. There was a spot on it which was of a different color: a deep blue gem embedded in the metal. The surface was so smooth that the gem had to be welded into the thing and then a coating of some kind had had to be put over the whole mess; the surface was completely smooth. Tony described his findings to Loki.

“Describe the colour,” Loki demanded. 

“Uhh,” Tony said – he thought he had. “It’s blue. Deep blue. Like… I dunno, sapphire. But clearer. Brighter. Light catches it funny.”

“Most helpful,” Loki sneered, and Tony could hear the sarcasm dripping from his lips. Tony was left staring at the gem – it was rather beautiful, but also kind of disturbing in its perfection. It was only after Loki shifted awkwardly that Tony noticed that while he had been examining the collar, he had also been holding Loki’s hair away with one hand, while the other rested on his neck. He was suddenly very aware of this fact, and let go abruptly. He backed away to his wall again, leaving Loki at his.

“So what’s that collar about?” Tony asked quickly, trying to avoid any unwanted thoughts from emerging. Like how Loki’s neck was exactly the same color and softness as Lori’s was-  _ NO _ . “What does it do?”

Loki stared at him, as if wondering if he should answer at all; from this reaction alone, Tony knew it was something serious.

“It stunts my magic,” Loki said curtly and extremely grimly.

Tony stared.

“Son of a bitch!” he huffed exasperatedly and threw his arms in the air. “How does this buffoon have  _ exactly  _ what I’ve been trying to work on the whole time?! I can’t believe it!”

Loki stared back, eyes narrowed, and clearly not interested in Tony’s plight. Tony let out a breath and rolled his eyes. He forced himself to focus on the situation at hand.

“Stunts your magic, huh? How much?” It didn’t sound good, considering their predicament.

“At this state... all of it,” the god replied and looked away. 

“Right,” Tony deadpanned. “ _ Right _ . What’s the gem about?”

“I don’t know,” Loki said, not looking at him. “I assume it’s the key in how the collar works. I would have to see it for myself to be sure of what it is. It sounds… out of your realm.”

“How the hell does Doom have something like that?” Tony thought aloud, more annoyed than he thought. “No way could he have come up with this on his own. I mean come on, just look at those bots. He doesn’t have the knowhow, he can’t have.”

“Doom does possess some magic,” Loki stroked his lips with his forefinger in thought. “I’m not yet sure what kind. I do know he couldn’t have made it, but rather found it… or was given it.”

Tony raised a brow. Loki was talking more to himself than to him.

“How did the bots knock you out, anyway?” Tony asked with a squint. “I’ve seen you fight against them before. Didn’t think you’d go down so easy.” Loki glared at him again.

“They had a device,” he said evasively, looking away once more. “I don’t know what it was. I can only suppose it was the same thing that hit you and rendered your precious armour useless.”

“Great,” Tony huffed. Loki avoided his eyes, but Tony had a burning need to talk. Not only did he want to get out of this cell, but focusing on that task would stop his mind from wandering. There were so many things he wanted to ask, and to say, to Loki, but none of them helped this situation. He had to keep focused.

“What do you think it did? I can’t get the data without my suit, and as that seems unlikely…”

“It was a shock of some kind,” Loki replied thoughtfully. “Electricity, perhaps?”

“No way,” Tony shook his head. “Your dear brother once hit me with a lightning, and that charged my suit like nothing in this world.”

“Ah, yes, I remember that,” a small smile played on Loki’s lips. “A delightful show, I must admit. But this device… it didn’t feel like electricity exactly, but it was very similar.”

“You have a lot of experience of electric shocks?” 

Loki looked at him as if he was stupid.

“You do realise I grew up with Thor,” he replied so blankly that Tony could only hit himself on the head. Mentally, of course.

“I guess that answers that,” he hummed. Loki rolled his eyes. “So whatever it was, it messed up my suit and took you out. I’d love to have a little chat with Doom.”

“As would I,” Loki nodded thoughtfully. “The technology combined with this collar… I find it hard to believe he could have managed this without… outside help.”

“You mean someone from another realm, or a planet?” Tony narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know if Loki knew of this ‘Amanda’, but was pretty sure he had to know - Thor knew, and by this point he was convinced even SHIELD had put two and two together. Loki looked thoughtful.

“Perhaps,” he shrugged. “I know of similar methods, but it is, of course, impossible to tell as of now. I would need to see the collar..”

“You think you could do something if you had  _ all  _ your powers?”

Loki was completely caught off guard at this, and Tony relished the shock on his face.

“What did Thor tell you?”

Tony shrugged. “May have mentioned something about you not having all your powers, them being taken from you or something like that, amid our friendly chit-chat.”

Loki seemed to curse mentally. Then he sighed heavily.

“I don’t know,” Loki frowned. “I can feel my magic inside me, so all the collar does is contain it. What Odin did… he literally took away most of it. I don’t have it in me anymore. This device merely holds the remaining magic in. I can feel it, but I cannot access it. It’s very frustrating. It’s highly sophisticated… magic or science, I cannot yet say.”

“Huh,” Tony said, taking it all in. He  _ needed  _ that collar - it seemed to hold the answers to all his questions; Spellblock could definitely be improved with that tech. Loki leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. The collar was a dark line against his pale neck, and Tony found himself staring.

“Now that I look at it, it doesn’t look half bad on you,” Tony grinned before he had time to stop himself, and regretted it at once. Loki stared at him, his lips slightly parted, and for a moment there was a terrifying silence.

“I mean…” Tony cleared his throat. “If you’re into that kind of stuff...” He hoped against hope that the situation could be salvaged somehow. He almost dreaded to look at Loki, but looking away didn’t seem like a good idea either. For a moment they stared at each other, and then Loki turned his eyes away, fingering the collar, and miraculously said nothing at all. Tony stared at him for a moment still, not quite sure what to think – he seemed… shy? Baffled? Confused? At least he wasn’t angry. Though it would have been less awkward if Loki had lashed out or made a biting remark, or even rolled his eyes. This reaction made Tony extremely uncomfortable and hit him somewhere deep. He didn’t want to think about it.

An awkward silence fell. Tony tried not to look at Loki, who in turn kept avoiding his eyes; a difficult feat for both, since there was nothing else in the room to look at. Occasionally Tony stole a glance at his direction, trying to assess his mood or thoughts. Loki kept fingering at the collar in thought, his expression betraying nothing, but his averted eyes spoke volumes, Tony thought. Without wanting to, Tony was reminded of the times he had talked about difficult matters with Lori – Loki – hell, it was still hard to think of them as the same person. But the mannerisms were similar, the way he turned his head, moved his lips, fidgeted with his fingers; it was all Lori, and Tony hated noticing these things.

Loki suddenly met his eyes, and they both froze; it had been unintentional on both sides. Tony was startled to look into the fantastically green eyes he had come to know belonging to Lori, and he had to admit they were still the same. Just less make-up on them, and more… not hers. Loki looked away again, his expression strained and serious.

“So…” Tony had to break the silence; he thought he’d go mad otherwise. “How long do you suppose he’ll keep us here? I don’t think this is a permanent location.”

“No,” Loki agreed reluctantly, not looking at him. “I’ve seen my share of prison cells, and this is more of a broom closet. It cannot have been planned.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Tony said, happy to be having a distracting conversation again. “I think we caught Doom off guard. Only his bots here to stop us. Where is he?”

“According to our information, he’s elsewhere,” Loki replied, biting his lower lip. “Barton and Romanoff were scouting here weeks in advance.”

It was weird to hear Loki speak of the Avengers like that. Like they were allies. When Tony wasn’t.

“This place is huge,” Tony remarked. “Did they ever go inside?”

“Not to my knowledge,” Loki replied. “Too dangerous.”

“So they sent you instead?” Tony raised his brows. Loki glanced at him drily.

“I have my ways, as you know” he said. “I got in unnoticed. I’m only in this predicament because of you.”

“Hey, no one asked you to intervene,” Tony huffed, a bit heatedly. “Doom was being a bother to me. I wasn’t gonna let him get away with it, was I?”

“There’s a reason your dear Avengers work as a team,” Loki rubbed his temple.

“Oh, you’re one to talk,” Tony muttered. “Where’s the back-up, then?”

“Not here,” Loki said with a thoughtful frown. “The situation might not be worth the risk, or they might have run into trouble. They do not necessarily know you’re here.”

“So they sent you in without a plan?”

“Of course there was a plan,” Loki snapped. “Everything was going well. It was agreed, however, that they should wait for a while if the connection got cut – which it did, when the robots shocked me – before attempting anything. They know exactly where I am because of this -” he waved his hand irritably, and Tony noticed a tracking bracelet. “- so they’ll consider their options. It’s been a while now, and unless they are detained or do not consider coming after me worth it, they should try breaking in within an hour or two.”

“Not worth it?” Tony repeated. “Look, I know those guys. They don’t leave their own to rot.”

“I’m not one of them,” Loki reminded him. “I’m expendable.”

“Would Thor agree?”

“No,” Loki sighed with a long-suffering smile. “He’s always liked to run recklessly straight into danger. They might have a hard time holding him back, but I’m sure he wouldn’t disobey direct orders.”

Silence fell again. Tony got up and paced the small space, trying to figure out a way to get out. The door was sturdy, there were no other exits. He wondered if Loki could force the door. Did the collar also affect his physical powers? He stole a glanced at him again. Loki was staring at nothing, hopefully thinking hard about a way out. 

The Avengers might be on their way, which was a comfort of some sort, Tony figured. Maybe there was nothing he could do. He sighed exasperatedly and sat down, leaning against his wall again. He stared at Loki, and tried to fight the questions bubbling inside of him. This wasn’t the time or the place, and he might get angry talking about certain things, anyway…

… but if this wasn’t the time, what was? It’s not like he could invite Loki over for a cup of tea afterwards and have a pleasant discussion.

_ Fuck it. _

“Were they all lies?” Tony asked and knew it sounded like it came out of nowhere; he could read from Loki’s face that he thought so.

“What?”

“Everything you said. As Lori. Was it all lies?” Tony stared at him and tried his hardest to keep his expression stern and unrevealing. He felt a bit awkward asking, and embarrassed, too – he didn’t want to sound like it actually  _ mattered _ . He wanted to sound like he was just curious. Just trying to figure it all out. He didn’t want to sound like he cared, because he was doing his damnedest not to. And failing.

“Every good lie has a basis in truth,” Loki replied, his face as expressionless as Tony hoped his own was.

“That’s not an answer.”

“No.”

“No what?” Tony’s frown deepened. “ _ No _ they weren’t all lies, or  _ no _ that wasn’t an answer?”

“No to both,” Loki said quietly, and his expression was so unreadable Tony wasn’t sure what to think. He said nothing and willed the god to continue with a stare.

“Everything I told you about John, for example,” Loki said. “It was all Thor. With some obvious changes.”

“Yeah, I figured that out,” Tony nodded and almost huffed in laughter when he remembered the adventures of ‘John.’ “But the other stuff? You wanting to be a magician, your family…”

“The best lies are nothing but alterations of the truth,” Loki looked away, seemingly uncomfortable. “Everything I told you was the truth veiled in a lie.”

“Why?” Tony asked, and this time he didn’t try to mask simple curiosity. Loki looked at him again. “Why didn’t you just make shit up? Why tell me all that? Was it all so insignificant to you that you didn’t mind using it for a purpose like that?”

Tony thought he could see a spark of anger in Loki’s eyes at that.

“Do not speak of things you don’t understand,” the god hissed in a low voice. “And if you must know, it’s always better to draw from reality in such situations. The amount of time I spent as Lori and had to live her life, well… it’s just easier to use one’s own experiences as a basis. It makes it more secure – less chance to contradict oneself in unexpected situations.”

“And the thing about Lori’s break-up?”

“Oh, that was a blunt lie,” Loki waved his hand in dismissal.

“What, no basis in reality?”

“None,” Loki shrugged. “It was not a very good lie, but it was necessary. Agents Romanoff and Coulson, with Director Fury, came up with the excuse.”

Tony snorted. “Figures.”

“Quite,” Loki said and a soft smile passed on his lips. Tony watched him for a moment – he was looking somewhere else, maybe thinking about something – and couldn’t help but ask the question he had often thought about.

“You told me about your – I mean, Lori’s – father’s enemies and how you were…”

“Yes,” Loki glanced at him, but turned his eyes away again. “As you can probably now guess, many alterations of the truth occurred there.”

“How much of it was true?” Tony asked and stared at him darkly.

“They were not Odin’s enemies,” Loki replied quietly. “I was not targeted. I was found. Rescued, one might say. They wanted something and used me to get it. I told you I did what they wanted – I made a deal. They were the ones who sent me to Midgard to get the Tesseract.”

“The Chitauri?” Chills ran down Tony’s spine.

“They were but servants,” Loki waved his hand derisively. “They were promised much, as was I. Puppets on a string.”

“Who’s the brains, then?” Tony asked. Loki looked at him long before answering.

“Odin already asked me this,” he replied.

“Well, I don’t exactly talk to him on a daily basis,” Tony rolled his eyes. “He’s not on my speed dial.”

“It doesn’t matter who’s behind it all,” the god shook his head. “There’s nothing you can do about it either way. Odin has taken measures to counter any possible attacks on Midgard. You will be involved only if necessary.”

“I don’t like that,” Tony huffed. “We’re not babies who can’t handle the truth. Does Fury know?”

“He never even asked,” Loki shrugged. “He might know. I’m not sure what Odin commanded Thor to tell him. He has more pressing issues, I’m sure. Such as Doom.”

“Where is that guy,” Tony sighed in frustration. “I’m getting sick of this room.” He got up and examined the door again.

“You’re not going to get through that door,” Loki huffed.

“Well excuse me for trying,” Tony exclaimed. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not interested in sitting here like a princess in a tower until Capsicle or your brother knocks on the door. Unless Doom gets to us first.”

Loki blinked, and got up.

“You’re right.” He joined Tony at the door, running his fingers along the edges. “I don’t sense any magic, at least.”

“Good?” Tony huffed. “Can you force it open?”

Loki shook his head slightly, still examining the door. “No, but I hear someone approaching.”

They glanced at each other and backed to the corners by the door. Soon Tony heard metal footsteps outside, as well, and saw Loki pulling a dagger out of his boot. Apparently the bots hadn’t done a very thorough search on him. Loki held up the dagger and nodded silently at Tony, who replied in kind. He moved to the center of the room, in full view of anyone entering.

The door opened and a robot entered, brandishing a gun. Tony raised his hands, and the bot seemed to scan the room for the other occupant.

“Hey, I’m here,” Tony called at it, trying to keep its attention on himself. “Boo.” He made a jerking motion towards the thing, and the robot prepared to shoot - only to have Loki attack it from behind and shove his dagger deep into its head. The gun went off and Tony managed to narrowly dodge the shot; there was an odd static energy which lingered in the room afterwards. It made him feel weird. He grabbed the gun.

“Let’s go,” Tony stated as Loki severed all cords he could see on the robot twitching on the floor. Tony peered outside; the way seemed clear, but there were bound to be security cameras everywhere. He spotted one and shot at it.

“Which way?” he hissed at Loki. They weren’t near where they’d fallen.

“Up,” Loki replied, nodding towards a staircase. They headed to it, but heard robots coming down; they changed plans and ran into the nearest empty room. It seemed like another storage, although not empty like their little cell. In the corner Tony saw something familiar, and dashed towards it.

“Damn it,” he groaned as his eyes fell on the remains of his suit. Every piece was damaged, and nothing connected anymore. It was hopelessly broken, and there wasn’t much there to salvage. “Shit.”

“Leave it,” Loki hissed, noticing his spear in the corner and grabbing it. “We must go.”

“I can’t leave this here!” Tony exclaimed. “I don’t want Doom to have  _ any _ of my tech – the last thing anyone needs is him making his own flying armors!”

“We can’t carry those parts!” Loki retorted heatedly. “We must escape while we still can.  _ Leave them _ .” They stared at each other for a moment, Loki imperiously, Tony angrily, until Tony took one last look at his broken gear and groaned in frustration.

“Fine,” he said. “But it’s your fault when Doom starts wreaking havoc in a fucking Iron Doom suit!”

“I will take the blame,” Loki replied tensely, and they went back to the corridor once the group of robots had passed, and began running up the stairs stealthily. If there was anything good about the situation, it was that at least Loki was now armed.  _ Then again _ , Tony thought,  _ it might not be so great if he turns against me…  _ He held the gun tighter.

“Oh shit,” Tony hissed as they turned a corner and saw three bots coming straight at them. Loki assumed a fighting stance at once.

“Stay behind me,” he told Tony. “If they shoot…”

“Hey, I’ve got a gun, too,” Tony said, taking another look at the robots. “And look - they’re unarmed!”

“Spare your shots, we might need them later. Stay where you are,” Loki commanded, and ran towards the bots without another word. Tony didn’t have time to say anything when Loki was already engaging the robots in a fight; he did pretty well. Tony noticed that his fighting wasn’t as fluent and smooth as before – the loss of his magic probably affected his skills in some way. Still, he was quite effective, and his physical strength clearly hadn’t diminished too badly. As the corridor was rather narrow, Loki was able to keep the bots near himself and all Tony had to do was watch and hold the gun ready. Not that it was easy; he hated not being able to do anything, and the thought of his mangled suit pissed him off. He wanted to blast the robots with his new gun, but it didn’t seem like the most precise weapon, and he didn’t want to accidentally hit Loki. 

Loki was very swift and effective with the bots, and Tony walked towards him as he was finishing off the last one – with rather unnecessary violence; smashing the thing’s face in with his boot was kind of an overkill, considering the head was already severed from the rest of its body.

Tony stood behind him when Loki turned to him, and the look on his face sent shivers down Tony’s spine. His breathing was heavy, his lips were parted. His eyes, though, were what made Tony lose all sense of time and space. They were green, impossibly clear, and their depths seemed to swirl in an unearthly fashion – or maybe that was just his imagination. Suddenly he remembered Lori’s eyes doing something similar, but never so strongly and never so full of  _ passion _ and  _ life _ ; he realized that the charade that was Lori had only dimmed the light of those eyes, pulled a veil over their brightness, and now he was seeing them for what they truly were; all coherence left Tony.

There was very little thought involved as Tony pushed the god against the wall and locked their lips together in a kiss, keeping his hands securely on both sides of Loki’s face. Loki made a sound in the back of his throat that sounded surprised and  _ needy _ to Tony, and it was  _ hot as hell _ . He remembered the kiss with Lori, the look in her eyes, and his confusion threatened to raise its head again; he ended the kiss as suddenly as he had initiated it, and stepped back, slowly wiping his lips with the back of his hand in want of anything else to do. His heart was beating rather fast, and he tried to keep his breathing calm. Loki stared at nothing, stupefied, and then his eyes flickered to him; the look in them was the same kind of burning desire Tony had often thought he’d seen in Lori. Their green depths still seemed to swirl.

“I still hate you, by the way,” Tony pointed a finger at the god, and Loki raised his chin in confusion. “For… a lot of things.”

Loki said nothing. He stared at Tony with an unreadable expression, and Tony stared back.

“Right,” he turned away from the god and peered into the hallway. “Seems empty. Move it.”

He began running along the hall as quietly as possible, followed by Loki somewhat less quietly in his leather and metal. 

_ Mistake of all mistakes _ , Tony thought to himself.  _ I’m insane. Mad. And gonna regret that so badly _ .

They managed to run for a good while with only a few robots getting in their way. Soon they found themselves at what Loki recognized as the main entrance; the large doors were shut, and there were swarms of robots in the area, in various states of agitation, running out from a small side door.

“There’s too many,” Tony hissed as they were cowering behind a corner. “And these ones have guns.”

“We cannot stay here,” Loki hissed back. “They will find us. We need to make it for the door.”

“How?” Tony had to ask. “Do you see how many there are?”

“Do you have other ideas?” Loki snapped, and when Tony raised his palms in dismissal, the god peered at the scene. “We will go for that divider further in the room. From there, we can approach the small door. Stay behind me.”

“Look, you’re not invulnerable anymore,” Tony tried to remind him. “If they shoot you, it will hurt.”

“I’m aware,” Loki said grimly. “I have faced them before.”

“Yeah, but you still had some of your –”

“We don’t have time for this,” Loki interrupted. “Come!” And he sprang from their cover, Tony on his tail. Shots began firing at once; Tony shot back whenever he could. Miraculously, Loki managed to reflect some with his spear. Magic or not, the guy really had a keen eye for this. Robots began following them, and Tony kept his eyes on the small bit of wall which was their destination. Loki was right next to him, shielding him from shots. They were almost at the wall, when suddenly a robot appeared from their left, which had been a barren direction so far. Tony had time to look, but not act, and he saw a strange-looking device in the bot’s hands.

“Tony!” he heard Loki cry, and then he was pushed towards the cover just as a flash of green energy emerged from the bot and hit Loki; the god had time to let out a pained cry before consciousness left him. His spear fell on the floor with a clang.

“Shit!” Tony hissed when Loki went down; he grabbed him and pulled him to the cover. They were almost at the exit, and it seemed so cruel to be cut down now and be recaptured. The bots kept approaching as Tony tried to keep them at bay and shake Loki back to consciousness, but it was all in vain; the god was out. Oddly enough, the robot with the device cast it aside, and began approaching unarmed. Tony shot it at once.

“Come on,” Tony muttered in a panic-stricken voice, slapping Loki’s cheeks, wondering how long it would take the bots to reach them. “Get up!”

He could hear and see the robots coming, knew it was all over unless he could somehow beat them – which he couldn’t with just one gun (but he sure as hell would fight to the last). Fleeing was no longer an option, and fighting was not going to end well. He knew was doomed, and involuntarily cringed at his own pun. Just as these grim thoughts entered his mind, the huge front doors boomed and creaked. Tony looked at them, not sure whether this was a good development or not, and the bots stopped at this new turn. Something was trying to break in.

It only took one more booming hit and the doors cracked open, revealing Thor behind them, surrounded in the remnants of a lightning. There was a fraction of a second of silence, and then the bots fired just as Thor threw Mjölnir at them; Tony saw Steve running in with his shield, reflecting the shots effectively. Suddenly arrows were flying from somewhere, and Tony realized Clint had climbed up the rafters. Shots were fired – Natasha wasn’t far behind. 

Thor ran to Tony and Loki at once, and knelt down next to them.

“Loki!” he cried, trying to wake his brother. “Tony Stark! What are you doing here?”

“Never mind. He’s just unconscious,” Tony said. “Get him out of here.”

“I will, and you’ll come with me, as well.”

Tony shook his head.

“I need to go find my suit,” he insisted. “I’m not leaving it for Doom.”

“You cannot fight!” Thor boomed. Tony gestured to the gun as if it replaced his suit.

“I’m not going!”

“Fine! Stay here,” Thor grunted, and hoisted Loki up on one shoulder. “I’ll be right back with you.” So Tony stayed, and watched Thor carry his brother away. He cowered behind the cover, hearing shots and explosions behind him. He spotted Natasha up on the rafters, shooting away at the bots. Soon Tony could hear a loud roar, and when he saw Thor return there was a large, distinctly green form behind him. Apparently, Thor had gone to get some help. He ran to Tony while the Hulk jumped right into the fight.

“Lead the way, if you must,” Thor said grimly. Tony nodded, and peeked behind the barrier to see if there was a break. When he saw the moment come, he began running towards the corridor he and Loki had just come from, firing shots when necessary. Thor followed suit, bellowing at Steve to cover them. A few robots tried to follow, but all it took was one swing of Mjölnir to send them flying back. Tony ran as fast as he could until he arrived at the right door. He dashed in and dove for the remains of his suit.

“I got to find something to put these in,” he explained to Thor who had stayed behind to guard the door. “We can’t carry them individually.” He tried to look around for cloth, a bag, a container – anything.

“Time is of essence,” Thor grunted and took off his cloak. He then began loading the pieces on the red fabric.

“That’ll do,” Tony had to admit. 

“What are you doing here?” Thor asked as they tossed the bits of the armor on the cloak. “What happened to Loki?”

“Long story,” Tony shook his head. “We’ll talk later. I don’t think you can take over this place, just between the five of you – lots of bots here. We better hurry.”

Thor nodded and hauled the armor bits up in their makeshift bag and headed for the door. They ran back towards the battle, trying to avoid both the bots and the Hulk, who was tearing the place up. Thor acted as a meat shield for Tony and so made sure he wasn’t hurt. He even had time to grab Loki’s spear on their way. They ran outside and to the quinjet waiting a small distance away, covered behind some trees. Thor tossed the armor bits on it while Tony climbed on.

“There are some weapons at the back,” Thor said. “Should any of the fiends get close, use them. I’ll go join the others. We’ll return as soon as possible.”

“Roger that,” Tony said as he watched Thor run back into the fray, twirling his hammer menacingly. He sighed and slumped down on the floor, and a familiar sight greeted him – Loki, passed out on the floor, dumped on the spot rather unceremoniously. 

“Not a very good day, huh?” Tony chuckled to himself. He kept an eye on the battle, which seemed mostly contained. Loki began stirring after a few moments, and hoisted himself to a seated position with some effort.

“I don’t wish to make this a habit,” he grumbled when he noticed Tony watching him.

“Me neither, Bambi,” Tony huffed. Loki glanced at him and rolled his eyes, which Tony took as a good sign. 

“What’s happening?” Loki looked around the quinjet and the mangled armor on the floor next to him.

“Your buddies came to rescue,” Tony replied. “They’ll be here soon. They probably can’t clear the whole place out.”

“I suppose not,” Loki glanced towards the bunker. “There are many of them.”

A massive roar from the compound shook them both; they both recognized it being the Hulk. They glanced at each other - that hadn’t sounded good.

They didn’t have to wait for long when Natasha and Clint ran to them. They didn’t say a thing, but Natasha jumped into the cockpit at once, and Clint poised himself and his bow, ready to shoot whoever was approaching. Behind them ran Steve and Thor, the latter carrying the limp form of Bruce. Natasha started up the engines before Thor and Steve were on, and as soon as the two had jumped aboard the quinjet was off. Clint shot at the bots who had tried to follow, but soon they were too high for them to reach.

Thor laid Bruce on the benches, and Steve tested his vitals at once.

“He’s alive,” he said. “Just out cold. What did they do?”

“They shocked him?” Loki enquired, and Steve nodded. “They used it on me, as well. Very effective, although I’d assume they increased the efficiency for him.”

“Disturbing,” Steve frowned. “Doom has got something to neutralize the Hulk and you two. Thor was lucky not to get hit.”

“This time. The effect might not have been the same,” Thor said. “But I’m glad we didn’t have to find out.”

Loki huffed in annoyance, and Clint narrowed his eyes at him.

“The hell is that on your neck?” he asked, drawing everyone’s attention to the collar.

“That,” Tony said, “stops him from using magic. Hi, by the way.”

“Good to see you well, Tony,” Steve nodded briefly before turning to look at Loki. “What was that about your magic?”

“As he said. This,” Loki motioned to the collar with distaste, “prevents me from using  _ any  _ magic.”

Thor frowned and knelt down to look.

“Most curious,” he hummed. “This Doom has gone further in his science than we presumed.”

“It’s hardly all his doing,” Loki scoffed. “There’s a gemstone at the back of this which might be a magical component, but I cannot say for sure without seeing it.” He looked bitter as Thor checked the back of his neck, and nodded.

“Definitely not of this realm. We must rid you of this at once!” Thor exclaimed indignantly and poked at the collar. Loki swatted his hands away.

“Stop that,” he scolded. “I’m the first one to see it gone, believe me, but I doubt  _ you  _ can do it.”

“It’s pretty sophisticated,” Tony butted in, getting a bit annoyed at being ignored. “You need to find the connecting point first and then see what you can do. We don’t even know what it’s made of.”

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Steve sighed wearily. “Miss Romanoff, we’ll make a detour at Stark Tower.”

“I didn’t invite you over,” Tony scoffed.

“We won’t bother you,” Steve said. “We’ll just drop you off.” Tony rolled his eyes – not like he wanted to hang out with them or anything (well, maybe Bruce), but he was endlessly curious about the collar, and couldn’t miss the chance to examine it. Not that he’d tell them. Loki, however, looked somewhat torn. His eyes flitted between Tony and Steve, and his fingers kept fiddling with the collar.

“How do you intend to remove this contraption?” he then asked. Steve looked clueless.

“I guess we’ll see what it’s made of first, and go from there,” the Captain shrugged. 

“You fill me with hope,” Loki said with such scorn that Steve had to frown. Tony thought it was quite funny, really.

“We’ll figure out a way,” Steve tried to assure him. “We’ve got engineers and scientists on call, they’ll get it off.”

“Or you could let me look at it,” Tony suggested with what he hoped was an aloof shrug. “I’ve got the tech, and the smarts.”

“Stark, you don’t work with us anymore,” Romanoff reminded him from the wheel. “You said so yourself. Fury won’t want you to meddle in this.”

“Thanks for that,” Tony said derisively. He hadn’t quite forgiven her for being a part of the Lori scam. 

“I’m inclined to agree with Tony,” Thor said, then. “He’s very intelligent. I’m sure he could remove the collar fairly soon.”

“Natasha has a point, though,” Steve argued. “Tony, I know you’re good, but you cut ties with SHIELD yourself, and Fury really wouldn’t…”

“Yeah, ‘cause Fury always makes the right calls,” Tony narrowed his eyes at Steve. The Captain frowned and looked thoughtful.

“I’ll supervise Tony Stark if that’s what it takes,” Thor offered. “It’s in everyone’s best interest to have the collar removed. Loki can be of no use to the Director without his magic, and the collar cannot be properly studied while attached to him. I trust friend Stark.”

Steve looked unsure, but then sighed. 

“Loki?” he asked. “How do you feel about this?

All eyes were turned on the slightly surprised-looking god still sitting on the floor – it seemed he wasn’t too used to having his opinion asked. He glanced at Tony and then at Steve, and an indifferent expression fell on his face.

“I’ve seen your engineers in action,” Loki shrugged. “I’m not convinced of their skills. Honestly, I’ll take my chances with him.” He pointed at Tony, who was mildly surprised and oddly happy about this vote of confidence. Loki wasn’t looking at him, but Tony’s eyes never left him. He was just excited about a chance to examine the collar, he told himself. That had to be it.

Steve nodded. He made a call to Fury, who, judging by the look on Steve’s face, didn’t agree with the plan. Thor motioned to Steve and he handed the phone over.

“You must understand,” Thor all but yelled into the device – he hadn’t quite figured out the idea of a phone yet, but Tony suspected this time Thor was shouting to match Fury’s volume at the other end. “This is sensible… Nothing of the sort will occur! … Tony Stark can… Do  _ not  _ speak to me in this manner!” after a while the fuming Thor handed the phone to Natasha. “He wishes to speak with you,” he said with poorly contained anger, and crossed his arms over his chest in a huff when she took the call.

Tony couldn’t hear what Natasha was saying, since her phone voice was much lower than Thor’s. He looked at his companions – Bruce was still out, but looked fine enough; they had thrown a blanket over him. Clint was adjusting his bow or something, not looking at anyone, Steve was observing the situation with Fury concernedly, and Thor looked like he wanted to punch something. Loki was still sitting on the floor, fingering the collar with a frown. Tony wasn’t sure if he had made the right decision when he had offered to take a look at the thing. It could be dangerous (as if that had ever stopped him), or possibly futile (as if that had ever stopped him either), but most of all, it could be very confusing. He still didn’t know how to feel about Loki, and the kiss was something he hoped Loki’s second shock had erased from his memory. The  _ hell _ had he been thinking?

After a moment Natasha tossed the phone over to Steve.

“You got the OK,” she said. “For now. Thor and Steve, you go with them, and never let Loki or Stark out of your sight. If the collar comes off, you need to take it to SHIELD headquarters at once. Be in contact with Fury hourly. Coulson will drop by to hear your reports and provide further details… and terms.”

“Oh great,” Tony rolled his eyes. Not what he had been looking for.

“It’s either that or nothing, Stark,” Romanoff said sternly, channeling her inner Fury.

“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Tony said.

“Alright,” Steve sighed. Loki glanced briefly at Tony, who pretended not to notice. “Let’s hope for the best!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can almost hear the collective "finally!!" from you guys...


	19. The Idea

“Straight to the lab, gentlemen,” Tony instructed as he, Thor, Steve, and Loki arrived at the top of the building and watched the quinjet fly off. Thor hauled the pieces of the suit inside and dumped them in the middle of the floor, putting his cloak back on. Tony didn’t mind, and led the lot to the elevator and down to the lab. He wasn’t too happy about the terms Fury had dictated, but he didn’t horribly mind letting Steve and Thor into the lab. If anyone else tried, well… he’d deal with that as it came.

“Right,” he said when they were all in. “Nobody touch anything without my permission. You,” he motioned to Loki. “Sit here.” He pointed at a table where he usually did the most careful work – it had the best light, and he felt like that’s what was needed. Loki raised his brows, but hopped onto the table nonetheless. Thor and Steve were standing nearby, watching curiously.

“What is with Asgard and your crazy fashion,” Tony sighed. “Does everything have high collars? Take that coat off so I can at least see what I’m doing.” Loki didn’t exactly look pleased, but removed his overcoat and most of his armor so that he was down to a green tunic. Tony thought it looked soft. He wondered what it was made of, and whether it was nice to the touch. He resisted the urge to stroke it. Instead, he grabbed his metal analyzer and pressed it against the collar. After a moment he looked at the readings and his brows shot up high.

“Well,” he said. “This is quite something. Apparently this thing is 30% titanium and 10% steel.”

“Is that good?” Steve asked tentatively.

“Kind of,” Tony squinted at the collar. “But the question is, what’s the rest 60% made of?”

“You don’t know?” Thor frowned.

“It’s not made of a metal that’s known on Earth,” Tony said, and he knew he should have felt deflated; instead, he was bubbling with excitement. 

“Can you get it off?” Thor asked.

“Well,” Tony said slowly. “It would be better to try after we know what it  _ is _ made of. I can try to cut it, but it’s kind of close to your brother’s neck…”

“What  _ can _ you do?” Steve asked.

“I can do more tests,” Tony grinned. “Who knows, it might be like butter under a laser. Or, we could try the more old-fashioned metal cutter…”

“Are you certain you won’t hurt him?” Thor asked worriedly as Tony went on about all the ways in which he could try to force the collar off of Loki.

“I’ve got a steady hand,” Tony shrugged. “But I mean, I could examine it better first. Maybe there’s a way to get it off without destroying it.”

“Try that, then,” Steve sighed. 

“Fine,” Tony said in mock disappointment. “You never let me have any fun, dad.”

Steve wasn’t impressed.

“Okay, you,” he pointed at Loki. “Lay down. I need light.”

Tony spent the next thirty minutes scanning, poking, and prodding. There was definitely some magic going on with the collar, and the gem specifically; but that surprised no one. He used a camera to show Loki the gem on a screen, and the god looked at it intensely.

“Show more light on it,” Loki instructed. Steve held a light towards the collar and Tony moved the camera to view the thing from different angles. The blue gem sparkled like the ocean.

“Hm,” Loki looked grim. 

“Amora?” Thor asked. Loki nodded.

“She has definitely helped make this thing.”

“Does this knowledge help us?” Steve asked. Loki shook his head.

“No. It might be hard to get the collar off if she’s used her magic in creating it. I wish I could do something…”

“You could sit still and let me examine it,” Tony suggested, and they continued the process with Thor and Steve watching in silence. With every minute that passed, Tony began resenting the audience more and more. Steve and Thor did nothing wrong, and stayed quiet; however, he could constantly feel their eyes on him, and he wished he could just get some peace. He was glad neither of the two was particularly scientifically-minded, so at least they couldn’t spy on his work and report to Fury. At some point Coulson called Steve to ask how things were going, and informed them he was coming by in an hour or so. Tony wasn’t happy, but kept on working. 

An hour later Jarvis announced that agent Coulson had arrived. Tony groaned.

“Well, he’s not coming in here,” he huffed. “Let’s go meet him upstairs. Come on.”

Tony had told Jarvis to let Coulson into one of the meeting rooms, and nowhere else; Steve and Thor he could tolerate, but Coulson was far too deep into SHIELD business to be trusted. 

“Mr. Stark,” Coulson greeted with his infuriatingly calm smile. Tony found his serenity insulting.

“Agent.” 

“I’m here to get reports from the mission, and to bring you terms of this… arrangement,” Coulson went straight to the point. Tony shrugged, and Coulson asked if he could have another room where he could get a report from Steve, Thor, and Loki individually. Tony let him use the adjacent room, and Coulson entered it with Loki.

Tony was left with Steve and Thor, and none of them really knew what  to say.

“So,” Thor began. “Why were you at Doom’s hideout?”

Tony wondered if he should say anything, but then shrugged. “Doom’s been a bother. And his apparent accomplice has kind of charmed a staff member of mine. I had to do something.”

“Reckless,” Steve shook his head.

Thor frowned. “Your staff member was attacked? How is he? Where is he?”

“He’s very much in love, and contained,” Tony replied. “Any idea how to fix him?”

“Amora’s magic is powerful,” Thor rubbed his chin. “The effect might wear off on its own, but there are ways to counter it. I think Loki might know more.”

“Of course,” Tony sighed.

After a good while Coulson and Loki returned, and the agent motioned Thor to come with him. This interview didn’t last as long, and when it was Steve’s turn, time spent was even shorter. Finally Coulson joined them all in the room and directed his calmness towards Tony.

“Mr. Stark, have you made progress with the collar?”

“Everything’s progress,” Tony muttered; it was infuriating to talk about any of his work with SHIELD.

“Can you get it off?” Coulson asked in his mild-mannered way.

“Not yet,” Tony replied.

“Then we should leave,” the agent said, placing his notepad in his briefcase and glancing at Steve and the Asgardians. “Our engineers will take it from here.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Tony said, raising his palms. “Wait a minute, you. If I can’t get it off, neither can they. And I’ve made progress – you’ll just slow the process down if you make your guys start from scratch.”

Coulson looked at him, and Tony could almost hear the cogs whirring inside his head. Clearly he didn’t trust him to share all his data – which was fair enough, because obviously Tony wasn’t just going hand in all his findings – but surely he had to see reason.

“Very well,” Coulson said, staring at Tony and not blinking once. “We’ll arrange another meeting with you tomorrow, or later this week. Either we’ll bring Loki over, or you visit us. You can continue then.”

“Or he could just stay here,” Tony pointed his thumb at Loki without thinking.  _ What are you doing _ , his brain supplied immediately.  _ Bad idea, a very bad idea _ . Loki’s brows shot up so high that they almost melded with his hairline, and Steve and Thor went slack-jawed. Coulson expressed his surprise by still not blinking. “I could work on the collar later, or whenever – no time wasted.”  _ Stop it, idiot _ . “There’s plenty of room in the tower.”  _ Bad idea, abort, abort! _

“Mr. Stark, that’s not quite…”

“I could stay here with Loki,” Thor suggested, then. All eyes snapped on him. “Tony Stark makes a fair point, and I’m sure both myself and Loki would appreciate a change in environment. This tower is very secure, I’m sure there would be no danger.”

“No  _ outside _ danger,” Coulson smiled serenely, but Tony wasn’t fooled. “I think the headquarters is the safest option, nonetheless.”

“I don’t trust your engineers,” Loki scoffed suddenly. Everyone looked at him now, and the god looked bored and haughty. “And they don’t trust me. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were a threat to my well-being, accidentally or otherwise.” He flicked imaginary dust off from his sleeve.

“One could say the same about Mr. Stark,” Coulson said, his eyes on Loki. “He has a personal grudge.”

“Yeah, well,” Tony shrugged. “Maybe so, but I’m never as angry with pawns as with the people who move them.”  _ Ooh, almost poetic _ , he thought wryly.

“I don’t see the benefit in keeping up hostilities with the Man of Iron,” Thor said. “He can aid us, and we should accept his help.”

“Captain?” Coulson directed his gaze on Steve, who seemed to realize that the agent needed his input.

“Uh, well,” Steve cleared his throat. “I don’t know much about technology, but I know Tony’s the best there is. Thor and I could take turns staying here, if that’s what’s needed.”

Coulson looked at him silently for a moment, and then took out his phone. He excused himself and left the room.

“I bet we can hear Fury even through that wall,” Tony said, staring at the door Coulson had shut behind him. Nobody said anything. They merely waited for Coulson to finish his call, and nobody made eye contact with each other. Tony felt like he should’ve thought about his offer before saying it out loud, but hey. The collar was endlessly fascinating. He tuned out his screaming inner voice. 

  
  
  


“You realize, Mr. Stark, that Loki is working for SHIELD,” Coulson said when he returned, at which Loki rolled his eyes. “And is thus answerable to us. This collar has to be relinquished to SHIELD when it comes off, and if it doesn’t come off, Loki will come back to the base. You have a week.”

They were all surprised that Coulson had apparently gotten permission from Fury. 

“The Captain or Thor will stay here with Loki,” Coulson continued. “They will report back on the progress. Loki will be under constant surveillance from either of them…”

“Come on,” Tony huffed. “Constant surveillance? You mean Point Break here will breathe down my neck when I’m trying to work? Will the All-American Boy Scout join Loki during bath time to make sure he doesn’t escape through the drain?  _ Please _ .”

Steve looked uncomfortable at the idea. 

“As you’re not a part of the Avengers or SHIELD, certain security measures have to…”

“What do you think will happen?” Tony scoffed. “That I’ll run off with your reluctant wizard? That I’ll get the collar off and Loki will murder me?”

Coulson’s stare told him neither option was unlikely. Steve spoke up.

“Phil,” he directed his words directly to Coulson. “I promise you Thor and I can keep things under control. You can trust me.”

Tony grinned internally. Captain America was Coulson’s weak spot, and while the agent’s expression never faltered, Tony could tell his resolve was breaking.

“Of course,” Coulson acquiesced. “But the terms have to be…”

“We’ll take care of it,” Steve patted Coulson on the shoulder. “Everything will be fine. We’ll report to you regularly.”

“Naturally,” Coulson nodded. “If we cannot get into contact with you, we will insist that Loki be returned to SHIELD headquarters immediately - by free will, or by force.”

Thor and Loki glanced at each other, and Tony didn’t like the sound of that. 

Coulson eyed them all. “You have a week,” he said, and nodded in goodbye before leaving the tower.

“Sorry, Tony,” Steve sighed once the agent had gone. “Looks like we’ll be staying with you. Listen… I know we haven’t always gotten along, and…”

“Stop right there,” Tony interrupted. “There’s space in my ivory tower, and it’s not like there’s a choice. So stop feeling guilty.”

Steve smiled at him in gratitude.

“Okay,” Tony clapped his hands together. “Let’s get back to work.” He glanced at Steve and Thor. “You really gonna come stand there and stare, both of you?”

Steve looked at Thor.

“Well…” Steve sighed. “I could actually go get some spare clothes from home. Thor, you can probably handle these two in the meantime?”

“Of course,” Thor nodded. Steve said he’d be back soon, and the others returned to the lab.

Tony sat Loki back on the table and began examining the collar once more, tuning his equipment and making a note of everything. The collar was endlessly fascinating - made of materials he couldn’t recognize, blocking magic seemingly effortlessly; this was exactly what he had needed. If SHIELD thought they’d get any of his data, well… joke’s on them.

He pulled up relevant files and all the information on metals he could think of. Loki watched in fascination.

“Is this your invention?” he asked, looking at the hovering data in the air. Tony was confused for a moment, but then looked up and saw Loki eyeing the things with interest.

“Yeah,” he replied, slightly proud. “Pretty neat, huh?”

“I wouldn’t have thought you humans capable,” Loki murmured. 

“Not everyone is,” Tony grinned. “Just the best.”

“I see,” Loki almost smiled.

“Okay, lay back down. I need to get the readings again.”

“Do you think you can get it off within a week?” Thor asked, and Tony would rather not have answered. He had no idea. 

“Hey, I’m a genius,” he said, then.

“That’s not really an answer,” Thor noted. “Frankly, I trust your skills more than the people at SHIELD. If we run out of time…”

“Maybe I would get it off faster if I didn’t have interruptions,” Tony huffed, and Thor raised his palms in silence, backing off and sitting down on a bench. 

It was awkward at first, but soon Tony lost himself in his work again. Thor and Loki were silent, and Tony soon forgot Thor was even there. Loki  was harder to forget, considering he had to spend a lot of time quite near his face. He tried to focus on his work and his work alone, but at times the events in Doom’s hideout surfaced in his mind. He pushed them back forcefully.

After some time Jarvis said that Steve had returned - and had met Pepper in the hallway. She understandably had questions, and Steve couldn’t shake her.

“Shit,” Tony huffed. “I’m gonna have to explain this to her. Jarv, hold them both where they are, I’ll be right there.”

He put his tools away and looked at the two gods in his lab.

“You’re coming too, I guess,” he spread his arms. “I’m not leaving you here. Just… stay back a bit. I don’t think Pepper is gonna welcome you with open arms, is all I’m saying.”

 

In the end, Tony explained the situation briefly to Pepper, and promised to have a chat with her later. There was no way he could explain any of his reasoning in front of Steve, Thor, and Loki especially - and since he wasn’t even sure of his reasoning himself, it would be extra difficult. Pepper made him promise to meet her in an hour, which sadly meant taking a break from examining the collar.

Tony showed his new guests to their rooms. He figured they might as well be close to each other. He gave Thor and Loki adjacent rooms, which Loki didn’t seem too happy about, but it felt like a reasonable idea, somehow. Tony wasn’t really sure who he could trust in this situation. At least he had Jarvis to monitor everything.

Next, he guided them into the kitchen and told them to help themselves while he went to talk with Pepper. Steve looked quite content taking out pots and pans as Tony left them to their own devices.

“Keep an eye on them,” he muttered to Jarvis. “If they try going anywhere confidential…”

 

“Tony, what were you thinking”? Pepper crossed her arms as he entered her rooms, looking partly worried and partly disappointed. “You let them in here? After all they’ve done?”

“I mean,” Tony shrugged. “That thing on Loki’s neck is  _ exactly  _ what I need. I’m just getting everything I can out of it.”

“What they did to you was horrible,” Pepper breathed. “And now they’re just…  _ living  _ here?”

“Only for a week,” Tony said. “And besides, Steve was the one who spilled the beans. He wasn’t a part of it.”

“I can think of two others who were very much a part of it,” Pepper looked concerned. “Tony… are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Hell no,” Tony scoffed. “But it’s fine, I swear. Jarvis is keeping an eye on them.”

Pepper looked unconvinced, but said nothing. Her expression, however, spoke volumes.

“Seriously,” Tony tried to convince her. “Steve and Thor aren’t spy material, anyway. They don’t understand science, or don’t care about it. It’s fine, I wouldn’t let them here otherwise.”

“Tony, it’s not them I’m worried about,” Pepper bit her lip. “I was there to pick up the pieces when Lori… you know. Are you sure you’re okay with Loki of all people being here? Are you… feeling alright about it?”

Tony’s guts wrenched; he could read Pepper’s meaning from between the lines.

“I’m fine,” he said emphatically. “For real. Don’t worry about it. Besides, Thor said Loki might know how to fix Fields. So, it’s useful to have him here.”

Pepper still looked unsure, but didn’t argue.

When Tony got back to his guests, they were eating a simple pasta which Steve had made. Steve offered him some, too, and Tony joined them at the table. They ate in silence. Tony kept stealing glances at Loki, who seemed suspicious about the food, but ate it nonetheless.

“Okay, back to work?” Tony suggested, having finished his meal (which had been delicious, though he’d never admit it). 

“Tony, it’s 11:30 PM,” Steve noted. “Shouldn’t you get some rest? Shouldn’t we all?”

“We’re on the clock, Cap,” Tony reminded him, but failed to suppress a yawn.

“We’re also tired,” Steve sighed. “You included, Tony. Let’s all get some sleep, and we can continue first thing in the morning.”

Nobody seemed to take Tony’s side, so he had to comply. Before they went their separate ways, Steve spoke up again.

“We did considerable damage to Doom’s compound today,” he eyed them all seriously. “We were definitely caught on camera. I don’t need to tell you that Doom, or Amora, might retaliate. Stay on your guard.”

Tony saluted him in reply.

He lay awake most of the night, thinking about the tests he needed to do and the possible ways to remove the collar and not give any data to SHIELD. Green eyes haunted him as he finally drifted off. 


	20. The Stars

The next day went on in pretty much the same way, though Steve did leave for a while to visit SHIELD. Their mission hadn’t gone great, and there were meetings he needed to attend to, or something, Tony really didn’t care.

He worked on the collar nonstop. He had managed to adjust his tools enough to pick up magical radiation better, and was trying to apply his newfound knowledge to removing the collar. After using his strongest magnifying glass, he had found a seam; the collar was obviously magically closed, but it wasn’t completely smooth. Tony focused on this spot, as it was the best option to start forcing the collar apart when it came to it.

Thor was on the other side of the workshop, looking at Tony’s suits. It was clear the thunderer got incredibly bored watching Tony work, and would probably have wanted to be anywhere else. Tony was glad he at least moved around at times, and didn’t spend all of his waking hours staring at his work.

“Does it hurt?” Tony asked after the tenth time Loki had stretched his neck and tried to pull at the collar.

“It’s not comfortable,” Loki replied. “I grow tired of it.”

“I bet,” Tony said. “Okay, let’s see now.”

He brought his adjusted metal detector to the collar, and then looked at the readings.

“Oh yeah, much better,” he said. The device had now identified more molecules – they were none that Tony could yet categorize, but hey, better than nothing. Now he just needed to figure out what they were and how to cut through them. He was already pulling up data and writing down ideas when Loki spoke.

“Why did you do it?”

“What?” Tony said, already absorbed by the new information.

“At Doom’s compound,” Loki said, and his voice was low. Tony froze for a fraction of a second, but didn’t look at him. “Why did you kiss me?”

And there it was. Tony knew his actions would come haunting him, they always did. He tried very hard not to stop what he was doing, or look at Loki, whose eyes he could feel boring into his skull. 

“A heat of the moment lapse in judgement,” Tony shrugged and tried to sound nonchalant.

“Of course,” Loki looked away. 

Suddenly Tony was incredibly happy that Thor returned within earshot. The work continued in silence.

 

Steve returned, Thor took a break; Thor returned, Steve said he’d go make them all some dinner. All the while, Tony worked, completely absorbed. He was reluctant to go when Steve called them to eat, but relented. 

“Tony, how defensible is this tower?” Steve asked in the middle of their meal.

“You’re strangely ominous today,” Tony raised a brow. “Do you know something I don’t?”

“I was only thinking about Doom and Amora,” Steve sighed. “You don’t have SHIELD backing you up, and if Doom decides to…”

“I’m fine on my own, thanks,” Tony snapped. 

“It’s laughably easy to get in here,” Loki noted. Tony frowned deeply. “Don’t look at me like that, Stark. Amora is a powerful sorceress; door and windows aren’t going to hold her back.”

Thor nodded in acquiescence. 

“Well she’s not here, is she?” Tony scoffed. “Case closed.”

The others exchanged wary glances. Tony rolled his eyes and decided to move on.

“I’ve got an employee under Amora’s love spell,” he said. “Any cure for that?”

“Time,” Loki shrugged. “If she’s kissed him, he’ll recover in about a week… unless she renews the spell. Just don’t let him near her.”

“Will do,” Tony snorted. Suddenly a horrible thought struck him. He’d felt so strongly about Lori, and Loki was also a powerful magician… he shuddered. Had he been under a spell? Considering the feelings he still harbored, was he under a spell _ right now? _ That would explain how he had been so infatuated with Lori, how even now he felt a pang of longing in his chest as he looked at Loki; he wasn’t a fool, he knew what love felt like. Had Loki hit him with a love spell?

“Thor,” Tony said, “I need your opinion on my employee. Come with me?”

“Wouldn’t Loki be a better…”

“I said I need your opinion,” Tony stressed and motioned towards the door. Thor glanced at his brother and shrugged.

On their way to where Fields was held, Tony spoke to Thor in a hushed voice. 

“Listen, this Amora has love spells, right? So those are definitely a thing.”

Thor nodded.

“So… when Loki was Lori…” he didn’t even have to finish his sentence before Thor replied.

“Loki doesn’t possess the same powers,” he frowned. “He can be magically alluring, but it’s nothing like Amora’s spells. Tony, you don’t need to fear - a love spell was never cast on you.”

“Are you sure?” Tony’s fingers kept twitching nervously. “Because I think…”

“I’m sure,” Thor replied, stopping and facing Tony. His eyes were sympathetic. “No love spells. Loki’s magical allure wears off quickly, and love spells have never been a thing he does.”

Tony nodded. Thor seemed so sure, and it made Tony even more uneasy. So it wasn’t a spell he was under. He sighed.

They got to Fields, who was still pining away in his room. Thor’s face was grim as the spent a minute or two talking to the man, and afterwards Thor said he was certain Amora was to blame.

“Loki says it will wear off, which I’m sure it will,” Thor sighed. “Better keep him here until then. Otherwise he’ll do his all to seek out Amora… and spill all your secrets.”

  
  


It soon became obvious that neither Thor nor Steve was too interested in shadowing Loki constantly. One of them would always be present at the lab when Tony was working on the collar, but otherwise they seemed to trust that Loki wasn’t up to anything - or that Tony would behave. Tony was sure SHIELD had meant for them to never leave Loki out of their sight when staying in Stark tower, but both of them seemed to ignore that implied rule.

Steve had forced Tony to stop working on the collar that night and said that everyone needed sleep; Tony disagreed, but in the end, had to yield. It was stupid - he wasn’t even tired. He tried to relax in his room, but was too high-strung and itched to do more research. He could at least go over his data. He got up and headed for the lab.

Tony was walking past the common room when he spotted Loki was standing there, staring out of the window in the dark. It seemed a bit suspicious, so he went to check what was going on.

“Enjoying the view?”

Loki was slightly startled when he turned to look at him.

“The city is beautiful, in its way,” the god replied. He turned his eyes on the sky.

“Looking for stars?” Tony asked, looking at the red-hued night sky as well.

“Your world is too bright,” Loki said. “It drowns them out.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem with living in a city, if you’re into stargazing,” Tony said. “You just need to go further, like a natural park or...” he fell silent. Of course Loki knew that - Tony remembered the time he had taken Lori to look at the stars, and in retrospect the whole situation seemed ridiculous.

“I get the feeling you know a lot more about stars than what you told me when I… took you out that time, I guess,” Tony remarked. Loki chuckled.

“One might say so,” he said. “I was told to plead ignorance, so that you wouldn’t suspect. Such knowledge wasn’t a part of Lori’s interests, they said.”

“Oh, well,” Tony shrugged. “So you know a lot, then?”

“Stars are…” Loki searched for words, trying to see at least some on the sky, but in vain. “They have meaning. I know what’s behind them – I can tell where Asgard is, based on them, and the other realms. They’re familiar.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Tony said. “I’d love to know more, but as you can see… or rather not see…” he motioned at the sky, and Loki smiled briefly.

“Indeed. I should get some sleep, now. Good night.” And with that, Loki left him alone in the room.

Tony was about to head to the lab and continue his work, when a new idea struck him.

He hurried to a computer at once.

_ This is ridiculous, _ Tony thought to himself as his fingers danced on the keyboard.  _ So stupid. Why am I even doing this? _ Yet he kept on working, as quickly as he could. Every ounce of sense in his brain told him to stop, but he didn’t. As much as he hated the implications of the whole thing, he wanted to do something nice for Loki. He wasn’t allowed to leave the tower, and the thought of surprising him with this new idea made his heart beat a bit faster. 

“Sweet God, I hate myself,” Tony muttered as he set up his plan.

 

An hour later he abandoned all rationality and knocked softly on Loki’s door, hoping that Thor and Steve wouldn’t hear. A moment passed, and then Loki cracked the door; he frowned suspiciously at Tony.

“Come with me,” Tony whispered, and Loki looked even more suspicious. “I’ve got something to show you.”

“Why…?”

“Just come before we’re ambushed by solid muscle.”

Loki glanced at Steve’s door and thankfully followed Tony. He led him to a room which didn’t have much use; it was almost like a living-room, but without anything to do. Just some sofas and tables. He ushered Loki inside, and didn’t turn on the lights. The room wa pitch-black.

“Stark, what are we doing?” Loki asked suspiciously.

“You’ll see,” Tony said excitedly. “You know how I’m a genius and overall a master of good ideas? Check this out. Jarvis, display!”

And suddenly the room was illuminated by constellations, and Tony watched his plan unfold. The night sky with all its stars was reflected on the ceiling, on the walls, and it moved at the same speed as the Earth turned. It was quite beautiful, but Tony had eyes only for Loki, who looked at it all with his mouth slightly ajar in amazement. Tony grinned – the reaction was so worth it.

“This is…” Loki tried to take it all in. “How did you…?”

“Never you mind,” Tony shook his head. “Come on, sit down.” He almost pulled Loki down on the sofa, and they sat there comfortably, staring at the stars above.

“It’s all correct,” Loki murmured, eyeing the constellations. “It’s beautiful.”

Tony couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

They sat there in silence for a good while. Then Tony asked whether Loki would like something to drink; the god seemed a bit baffled, so Tony didn’t even wait for an answer and got them both some alcohol. A Scotch for himself, and a glass of wine for Loki. He figured that would suit his taste; it had certainly suited Lori’s.

They sipped their drinks and watched the stars marching by. Tony kept stealing glances at Loki, and hated how happy it made him to sit there together. Suddenly Loki’s serene expression changed, and he frowned to the ceiling.

“What’s wrong?” Tony asked casually over his drink.

“Hmm?” Loki looked at him. “Well, what isn’t? This, for one,” he motioned to his collar in disgust.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Tony tried to sound reassuring. “I’ll get it off. Meanwhile, you can just sit back and relax. Fury won’t need you, so no worries there.”

Loki looked at his whiskey rather morosely.

“It’s not a comforting thought,” he said after a moment. “Being able to do nothing and be of no use to anyone is hardly a positive thing.”

“You can’t be saying you like doing things for SHIELD?”

“Oh, of course not,” Loki snorted. “But at least thus far they’ve needed me. Now that I can’t do magic? Cast aside.”

“It’s not quite like that,” Tony sipped his drink. “But yeah, I guess that’s a bit of a bummer.”

“It’s funny,” Loki shook his head pensively, still staring at his drink. “To think that I’m here only because I wished to keep my magic. And now? It’s gone anyway.”

Tony looked at him. Loki looked almost defeated.

“You haven’t lost it,” Tony reassured. “Like you said, it’s just not available to you.” He took another sip, but his mind was now full of new questions.

“What do you mean, you came here to keep your magic?”

It took a while for Loki to reply, but Tony didn’t rush him. He watched the light from his starshow cast pale light on Loki’s already pale face.

“Odin gave me a choice,” Loki said, then. “I didn’t need to come to Midgard to make amends. There were other options.”

“And this was the best?”

“Hm, definitely,” Loki hummed with a frown. “The best out of three – to be weakened and sent to Midgard to serve you.”

“What were the other two?” Tony figured they had to be kind of dire to make someone as haughty as Loki agree to servitude.

Loki sighed heavily. “One option was to be forever stripped from my magic and sent to live as a mortal on Midgard,” he said. “The other was to be stripped from  _ most _ of my magic and be sent to live in Jotunheim.” He grimaced at the thought, and Tony frowned.

“Care to elaborate why that’s so bad…?” Loki glanced at him, somewhat startled.

“You were not aware?” he said, turning his eyes back on the whiskey. “I assumed Thor would have told you about Jotunheim. The land of frost giants. Jotunheim is a cold, forbidding place, void of sun or vegetation. Inhabited by monsters. I’ve been there, I’ve met them, and I don’t want to go back.” The bitterness with which Loki spoke told Tony that there was something more to this, but he didn’t press the issue. It was good to have Loki talking. Of course Tony had  _ so _ many questions, but Loki didn’t look like he wanted to talk about it.

“Will Odin give you your powers back?” he asked finally.

“So he says,” Loki replied wryly. “Once I’ve served my punishment. The terms were unclear, so I dare not trust his word.”

“Did you ever think about just… running?” Tony asked tentatively; Loki had to have considered it. Hell,  _ he _ would have. Loki laughed.

“In this state I’d be found at once,” he sighed. “I might be able to evade them for a time, but the punishment isn’t worth the risk.”

“What would he do to you?”

“Since I would then have failed this sentence, I would be given the choice between the other two options,” Loki said. “To live here as a mortal, or on Jotunheim.”

“At least it’s not death, I guess,” Tony shrugged, trying to see the positive.

“On the contrary,” Loki shook his head. “As I said, the Jotun are monsters. They’d hunt me down and kill me.”

“Just because they can?” Tony raised his brows. “Wow, talk about xenophobia.”

“Indeed” Loki muttered and averted his eyes. Tony raised a suspicious brow, but let the obvious evasion of truth slide.

“But hey, life as a mortal isn’t too bad,” Tony suggested. “I can assure you we wouldn’t hunt you down… I mean, you kinda tried to take over Earth, but who remembers that? People would barely recognize you.” He wasn’t sure what he was trying to do, convincing Loki that Earth was a good place for him to live in. Though, he was pretty sure Odin would give Loki his powers back… or would he? 

Loki seemed easier to handle when he wasn’t in possession of his full strength. Maybe that had been Odin’s plan all along? To take his magic, tell him he could get it back if he played nice, and just leave it at that. If Loki rebelled, he would be punished; if he obeyed, he would be of use.

“It  _ is _ bad,” Loki replied, shaking his head, and Tony snapped out of his thoughts. “Magic is who I am. It physically hurt when Odin took some of it away from me – it’s such an integral part of me that I don’t know what I would do without it. Living here as a mortal  _ is _ a death sentence, you understand – it’s in the name. I have no desire to die in a matter of decades, but living without my magic would be pointless and… unbearable.”

They were silent again. Tony wasn’t sure how they had got to talking about all this serious stuff, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it. He didn’t know what to say, but the situation wasn’t awkward, either. He remembered talking about serious stuff with Lori, and this was so incredibly similar.

“You’ll get it back,” he said, looking at Loki; the god met his eyes and looked somewhat insecure. “Thor will vouch for you. I’m sure even SHIELD will recognize your input. It’ll be fine.”

“I wish I was so easily persuaded,” Loki gave him wan smile. “But thank you, in any case. I suppose this collar’s making me more morose than I ought to be.”

“The sooner I get it off you, the better,” Tony said, his eyes burning with determination. Loki seemed surprised at his ardor, and his eyes softened when he looked at him. Tony clinked his glass with Loki’s, and they finished their drinks in silence under Tony’s stars, before sneaking to their own rooms.

Tony didn’t know if Steve and Thor had heard a thing, but he thought Steve looked at him kind of funny at breakfast. 

_ Oh, well. Worth it, _ Tony thought and offered Steve some more eggs.


	21. The Choices

Truth be told, Tony knew time was running out. The collar wasn’t an easy thing to get off, let alone undamaged. There were only two days left before SHIELD’s deadline, and the collar was still firmly around Loki’s neck. Tony really wanted the collar to stay intact, but in reality, it was going to be hard achieve, and he wasn’t sure that was the best option.

If the collar came off undamaged, SHIELD would get it. There was no question about it. He couldn’t just hide it and plead ignorance. And if he damaged it, he couldn’t get it, either.

Still, Tony he had decided to force the collar off. That way, he’d get all the data he’d gathered so far (and there was no way in hell he’d let SHIELD have any of it), and SHIELD would get nothing. It felt like a good plan.

Tony was getting closer to actually figuring out a thing or two about the collar, and Loki was surprisingly helpful. He wasn’t shy about sharing his knowledge on how the collar worked, and what the gemstone embedded in it did; it was extremely enlightening and interesting to Tony. Loki knew a lot about magic and its workings, and often the two of them would be lost in conversation while Tony worked. 

In general, Loki seemed more comfortable around him than before and, if they happened to be in the same place, sometimes sought out his company. Thor was usually around, as well, but still. Tony enjoyed showing Loki new things, demonstrating some of his inventions, talking about this and that. Tony found himself hoping that he could take Loki out, show him the city, do what he’d done with Lori. Enjoy life again.

As the deadline approached, Tony was getting gloomier. He had realized that no matter what, things were coming to a close. Whether the collar came off or not, SHIELD was going to whisk Loki away as soon as possible. Tony had long since stopped pretending it was the collar he was most reluctant losing; he didn’t want to lose it, of course, but it was Loki’s company he already missed.

He could’ve just left the collar on and asked SHIELD for more time, but he was sure he could get it off, and he’d promised Loki. SHIELD couldn’t do it, there was no way. Even if things went to shit for himself, and least Loki wouldn’t need to suffer from the contraption anymore.

 

The second-to-last night before the deadline Tony was in the lab with Loki, Thor supervising them. Or rather, playing with a Rubik’s Cube in the corner, bored out of his mind. He clearly didn’t agree with SHIELD’s orders, but Tony suspected he was present because he wanted to make sure Loki was alright. Tony resisted scoffing at his own thoughts.

He ordered burgers through Jarvis when Thor suggested they had some dinner. Soon Jarvis announced the food had arrived.

“Thor, could you go pay the delivery guy?” Tony said, not looking away from his data for a second. 

“Certainly,” Thor said and got up.

“Jarvis will guide you,” Tony called after the god as he left the workshop. He finished examining the numbers on the screen and adjusted his scanner a bit more, and took it back to Loki, who was sitting on the low table once again.

“Okay, I’ll try this on all the spots on the collar and see if there’s a difference,” Tony said, peering at the metal circlet and pressing the tool to the back of it. “It’ll take a moment for the data to register now.”

Loki merely nodded, and Tony suddenly realized he was way closer to the god than he had intended to be. Maybe it was an accident, or maybe his subconscious was playing tricks on him; whatever the case, he found himself staring into green eyes which looked unreadably back at him. The scanner beeped and Tony moved it to another part of the collar, his eyes still fixed on Loki’s.

“Stark,” Loki said quietly. “Aren’t you a bit too close?”

“What are you going to do?” Tony asked equally silently. “Run away?”

Tony found he was too close to Loki to even see his face properly anymore. What had come over him, he didn’t know; maybe it was those green eyes, the feelings he’d harbored for so long, or the fact that he knew their time together was coming to an end. All he knew was what he wanted, and it was right in front of him. 

It was insane, of course it was. He felt Loki’s cool breath on his cheek, and tentatively brought his hand to his hair, as he had done to Lori what seemed like forever ago.

“I am not  _ her _ ,” Loki whispered hoarsely. “I  _ cannot  _ be her.”

“I don’t need you to be,” Tony murmured, and pressed their lips together.

It started out gentle and sweet, but soon became more intense; Tony was reminded of his first kiss with him – or Lori – the way he had responded so tentatively but broken it off too soon; now, though, there seemed to be no such restraints. There was a lot of pent-up tension and need in the kiss, and Tony was more than happy to let it all out right there and then. Hands groped, hair was pulled, the kiss deepened; Tony pulled Loki as close as humanly possible, slipping his hands under his tunic to feel more. Loki responded wonderfully to his every touch, moved in just the right ways to make Tony go crazy, and seemed to be as hungry for more as he was.

And then he heard the workshop door open when Thor entered.

Tony thought he might have disentangled himself from Loki in record time, and was extra glad that he had decided to take the station not directly in line of sight from the door (this was not something he wanted to discuss with Thor). By the time Thor came into view, Loki looked as casual as ever, and had assumed a bored expression, while Tony had sat down and was trying to squish himself against the table, attempting all the while to look like he had never left his research.

“Excuse my tardiness,” Thor sighed, placing the bags of food on the table next to Tony. “I had some difficulty with your money. The delivery person wasn’t helpful. Has there been progress?”

_ More than you think _ , Tony thought, and did his best not to say that aloud. “You were gone for like ten minutes. No breakthroughs as of yet,” he said instead. Loki just looked frustrated and grabbed a burger from the bag. He unwrapped it and looked at it dubiously, and then took a careful bite. Tony was endlessly curious about his opinion on fast food.

“You said this was supposed to be meat and greens?” Loki frowned, and Tony nodded. “I can taste neither. What strange things you do to your food.”

“I like it,” Thor said, mouth full of burger. “It tastes quite good.”

“It’s not  _ inedible _ ,” Loki shrugged and looked at the soggy thing in his hands. “Better than anything over at SHIELD. But I would much rather be able to identify what I eat.”

“We’ll get something fancier next time,” Tony grinned and stuffed his face with fries.

“Tony,” Thor swallowed a mouthful. “Will there be a next time? I don’t want to rush you, but…”

“I know,” Tony snapped. “I know. I’ve made progress, alright? We’ll get this off tomorrow. I promise.”

Both Loki and Thor stared at him.

“Just eat your food,” Tony sighed. “The sooner we get back to work, the sooner it’ll be over.”

_ All over. _ Tony didn’t even begin to analyze all that was going through his mind right then. He noticed Loki kept stealing glances at him, and tried to ignore them. He couldn’t be distracted now, not with time running out, not with Thor being there - but goddamn he wanted to.

 

They left the lab after a few more hours, Thor glued to Loki’s side. Back in his penthouse, alone, Tony finally had time to think, and oh how he didn’t want to be alone with his brain. Too much going on, too much to process - too much he wanted, and too much he was going to lose.

“Jarv, what am I gonna do?” he sighed.

“Get the collar off, sir,” the AI replied.

“Yeah, thanks,” Tony scoffed. “But I mean… about… Loki.”

“Might I suggest asking Miss Potts, sir?”

“Hell no,” Tony shuddered at the thought. “She’d think I was under a spell, and I can’t blame her.”

Jarvis wasn’t helpful, so Tony tried to sleep. It didn’t work.

He analyzed some data instead, but kept being distracted by the events earlier. He needed something more tangible to keep himself focused, and figured he might as well go back to the lab.

“Sir,” Jarvis said when Tony was just about to head back. “Mr. Loki is standing outside your door.”

Tony froze and blinked in surprise and confusion.

“Menacingly?” he asked.

“No, sir,” Jarvis replied. “He seems to be contemplating something. He has stood there for ten minutes.”

“And you only tell me  _ now _ ?” Tony huffed. “So… what is he doing, exactly?”

“He is leaning against the wall, staring at the door, and mostly frowning, sir.”

“Okay,” Tony sighed. “Better go say hi.” He strode to the door, yanked it open, and was met with a bewildered looking Norse god staring back at him.

“You’ve nailed the deer in the headlights look,” Tony said when Loki seemed too caught off guard to speak. “Come in, then.”

“I was merely…”

“Whatever, just come in,” Tony rolled his eyes. He had a pretty good idea of why Loki was there, and there was no escape – they had to talk. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to, but he knew it was inevitable. Loki breezed past him swiftly and Tony closed the door behind him. Loki stopped rather awkwardly in the middle of the room and turned to face Tony, who crossed his arms across his chest. He sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to address the issue. He sucked at things like that.

“Stark,” Loki began, and when Tony reacted only with a slight twitch of his eyebrows, corrected, “Tony.”

“Yes?” Tony said, his eyes never leaving the god. His hair had long since abandoned its shiny slickness, and was now in what Tony assumed was its natural state: longish, rather matte, and curling towards the ends. It wasn’t a bad look, he had to admit.

“What’s going on between us?” Loki asked with a slight frown. Tony inhaled deeply. He had no idea.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “Do you like whatever it is?”

Loki seemed to contemplate the question. He narrowed his eyes a bit and looked at Tony with scrutiny, and Tony felt a bit uncomfortable.

“I do,” the god nodded, then. “But I would like to know what it actually is. What it is to  _ you _ .”

“Right,” Tony sighed. “Okay. Want a drink?”

“No, thank you. Your alcohol is vile.”

“I know you like some of it,” Tony said, going to the bar. “I could make you one of those fizzy ones we had at Razzi’s. Or wine?”

“Perhaps another time,” Loki replied. Tony got to the counter and when he looked back he saw that Loki was standing in the exact same spot as he had stood over a year ago when he had come to wreak havoc in his tower; it was also the same spot Lori had stood in when Tony had brought her up the first time they had met. No wonder he had thought it seemed familiar.

Whereas the first time Loki had stood in that spot had been menacing, this time was more uncertain. Tony was fairly certain nobody would get thrown out of a window, and Loki wasn’t even armed. He didn’t even have his armor on – he was standing there in his green tunic, leather pants and boots, looking somewhat demanding but definitely not dangerous.  _ Much _ .

“Suit yourself,” Tony shrugged and poured himself a whiskey, which he downed in one go. He felt like he was going to need it. “So, what brings you here?”

“You know exactly what,” Loki huffed in frustration. “What is it that we have, to you?”

“I already said, I don’t know,” Tony repeated and walked slowly towards him, trying to stay cool even though his heart was racing a million miles per second. “I’m hot, you’re hot, and we’re both pretty smart.”

“That’s no answer,” Loki said seriously. 

“No, but it’s the best I’ve got,” Tony shrugged.

“Tony,” Loki sighed gravely. “I’m not Lori. No matter how much of myself I poured into her, much of her was nothing but a fabrication. Her personality was not wholly mine, her interests were not always mine.  _ You do not know me _ .”

They stared each other for a good while, Loki looking like he wanted Tony to challenge him, like he wanted to argue his case. 

“From what Thor says, I think I know you pretty well,” Tony said and stopped a few steps away from the god. “I’ve been thinking about Lori a lot since the truth came out. Seriously,  _ a lot _ . After the initial hate, I started thinking about everything she told me about herself, and I compared it to what I know about you. I’m a genius, remember? I saw connections. And ever since that stint in Doom’s broom closet I’ve thought about it even more.”

“... and?”

“And it’s really hard for me to imagine you two are the same person, because you’re so different,” Tony said, holding his gaze. “I know you’re not her… which is a weird thing to say because you literally are her. But you know, you’re not her in that sense. I know it. It’s been really confusing to get used to the idea, but I know how it is. I remember her, and then I look at you. I can see the similarities, but I can also see the differences.”

“Yes?” Loki looked extremely wary.

“Yes,” Tony repeated. “When you peel off the disguise – Lori’s looks and her fabricated background and her paper-thin personality… I mean, I’m sorry, but when you think about it, she didn’t have one of her own. Her thing was to be sexy and flirt with me, and that worked; everything else was you. She wasn’t a very independent person. I guess what I’m trying to say is…”

Tony looked down and tried to find the words to say it. On one had he didn’t want to say anything at all, because that would only lead into trouble he couldn’t even imagine; on the other, he really wanted to tell him.

“All I’m saying,” Tony looked into those green eyes. “Is that I like you for you. I don’t want Lori. She was nice and sexy, but in the end, she was  _ you _ . I find you pretty sexy, too, so there’s that. Don’t ask me where this…  _ thing _ is going, because I sure as hell don’t know; I like to live in the moment.”

Loki stared at him for a long while, and just when Tony was thinking that he might need to call back-up or leave the room, Loki grabbed him and kissed him with passion. Tony was more than happy to go along with that, and what Thor had interrupted back at the workshop continued with feverish need. Before he knew it, Loki’s tunic was thrown to the floor and his own shirt followed suit; somehow they managed to stumble to the bed and Tony all but tackled the god on it.

From that point on Tony felt like he was in the haze of a dream, not quite believing it but knowing what he felt and tasted was so real it hurt. Clothes were cast off, sheets were crumpled; Tony lived and breathed the god underneath him, his cool, toned body, the skin which seemed too pale. His mouth possessed anything he could reach, and the taste of mint and that something he couldn’t place returned so strong that it was almost intoxicating. Loki’s hair was dark rivulets on the pillow, his hands grasping him and pulling him closer. The green eyes that had never left Tony’s dreams were burning with such desire that he could barely take it – he wanted it all, forever, always.

Tony pretty much lost all coherent thought. He had said he like to live in the moment, and that’s what he did, to his heart’s content - and Loki seemed to do the same. Afterwards, he couldn’t have described what happened even if he had tried. It was all a blur of passion, need, and sweat; hard kisses, gentle bites, tangled limbs. It was everything he could’ve hoped for, and more. 

Eventually´, Tony flopped down on the bed next to Loki, and just stared at the ceiling, his heart pounding ridiculously fast. For a while they both just lay there, breathing, but when Tony turned his eyes on the god he noticed he was already looking at him.

“That was pretty good,” Tony grinned tiredly. The corners of Loki’s eyes crinkled in amusement.

“If that’s the highest praise you can give, something has to be done,” Loki smiled mischievously. 

“I’m all up for it,” Tony laughed, grabbed his hand, and kissed it without thinking. Loki looked at their linked hands with an odd expression, but then smiled and squeezed lightly. 

“You wanna take a shower?” Tony asked. “It’s right behind that door. There’s towels in the closet.”

“Thank you,” Loki said and got up. Tony watched his lean frame as he got up, and his eyes followed the god’s naked backside as he went to the bathroom. Tony grinned to himself; he wasn’t sure what he was doing or if it was even a remotely good idea, but it felt  _ great _ .

The afterglow only lasted for a few minutes before Tony came back to reality. He could hear the water running in the shower, and his heart sank. No matter how he looked at it, this couldn’t last. Time was running out, and Loki couldn’t stay. He faked a smile when Loki emerged from the shower, drying his hair, but it didn’t fool him one second.

“What’s wrong?” Loki asked. Tony sat up and grabbed a robe.

“Oh, you know,” he sighed. “SHIELD, mostly.”

“Ah.”

Loki stood in the middle of the room, absent-mindedly drying his curls. Tony watched him, and his heart ached. The collar was an insult against Loki’s pale neck.

“We’re getting that off you,” Tony promised grimly. “No matter what. I’ll get it off.”

Loki nodded slowly, but said nothing. They both knew the end was near.

“So… do you wanna stay for the rest of the night?” Tony asked, trying with all his might to dodge the actual issue.

“I shouldn’t,” Loki sighed. “Thor has made a habit of coming to wake me up each morning. Would seem strange if I wasn’t there.”

“He does that?” Tony raised a brow. “A morning person, is he?”

Loki shrugged. “When he feels like it. He never actually wakes me - I’m usually awake already. But I let him believe.”

Tony chuckled. “Charitable.”

Loki got dressed, while Tony merely stood there. He didn’t know what to do or what to say - what was appropriate in this situation, anyway? Finally Loki came to him, not seeming very sure, either.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Tony,” Loki said softly, and was about to leave when Tony grabbed him and kissed him.

“Yeah,” he said, trying to come up with something clever or funny, but failing miserably. Loki gave him a quick, warm smile before leaving.

Tony stood in his place, staring at the closed door.

“Jarv,” he cleared his throat. “Not a word to anyone about this, alright?”

“Naturally, sir.”

Tony wasn’t ready for the hell that would break loose if Pepper knew. Or if Steve found out. Or Thor. He shuddered. 

_ Though Loki’s worth it _ . Tony grinned to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter might be delayed, so be patient with me :)


	22. The Invasion

The next day - the last one Tony had to rid Loki of the collar - began tense all around. They were all sitting at the table having breakfast, a habit they’d taken up almost by accident. Steve and Thor knew this was the last day, and what would happen after was unsure; they obviously tried not to bring it up.

Loki was silent, as was his custom, although he occasionally glanced at Tony. The night before was fresh on both their minds, but Tony would rather have died than let Steve and Thor know anything about it. He tried to eat his breakfast as casually as possible, making idle chat and remarks as if this was just another morning. 

Eventually they all went to the lab. Tony was more than a bit upset that the moment of truth had arrived, and he’d have to spend his last moments with Loki under the scrutiny of Steve and Thor. Still, nothing much he could do about it.

“Alright,” Tony sighed, crossing his arms in thought and looking at Loki. “We’re gonna force that thing off you, so we better protect your neck.”

He then proceeded to stuff protective metal cloth under the collar. Loki looked uncomfortable, but said nothing.

“Is that really going to protect him?” Thor looked dubious. Tony rolled his eyes.

“Yes,” he replied. “It’s thin, but strong. It’ll block the laser, mostly, and protect him from little cuts if I need to use sharp instruments.”

“And you’re sure you can get it off?” Steve asked. “You’ve identified the molecules… or whatever you were trying to do?”

“Will you please just shut up?” Tony groaned. “I know what I’m doing.” Steve and Thor backed off, and Tony continued his efforts at protecting Loki’s neck.

He wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing, truth be told. He’d done as much research as he could, and was pretty confident that his tuned laser would cut through the collar - but he’d had no way of testing it beforehand. Plus, the gemstone was another matter entirely; what if it interfered somehow?

“Okay, ready to roll,” Tony said once there was plenty of silvery material covering Loki’s neck. “You doing alright?” he asked Loki softly.

“I’m fine,” he replied, and Tony put on safety goggles. 

“Now, stay still,” he instructed, and brought the laser close.

They were all holding their breath as the laser hit the collar. Tony’s heart jumped as he saw a cut forming on the collar’s surface. The laser struggled, but pierced through. It didn’t cut all the way, but soon there was a welt that had formed across the metal. Tony stopped and admired his work.

“I’d call that a success,” he hummed, pleased. Thor and Steve came closer to look.

“Well done!” Thor slapped Tony on the shoulder. “Does it come off?”

“Not yet,” Tony examined the collar closer. “Seems the outer layer has been all but melted off, but there’s sturdier stuff inside. Nothing I wasn’t aware of, based on all my scans, but this will require something a bit more…”

He got the camera and soon they were all looking at the magnified image of the collar on one of Tony’s screens. There was indeed a clear cut through the width of the collar, but in the middle of it there was a thin sliver which hadn’t taken any damage. When looked at closer, they could see blue light coursing through it in small veins, no thicker than a hair.

“Huh,” Tony stared at the collar. “Well, that explains why the scans have showed such high concentrations of magic within the metal. I just never thought it would actually physically be there, you know, I just kind of assumed it was… magic.”

“It  _ is  _ magic,” Loki rolled his eyes. “Magic can be woven into physical objects, it’s not just some vague mist concentration.”

“I know that,” Tony scoffed, but had secretly pictured the magic as something invisible that was just sort of there. Not that he’d ever admit it.

“Now what?” Steve asked, concerned.

“Now we keep working,” Tony shrugged and got back to the collar, taking readings and analyzing them, occasionally tuning the laser and trying to cut the thin cord inside the collar. Steve and Thor glanced at each other, and watched him work.

 

Tony was starting to get anxious. Nothing he did to the collar seemed to work; the magic in it wasn’t easy to break. He was getting angry - he was so close to getting the thing off, he’d worked so hard on it, and now this.  _ Stupid magic. _ He was sure he could work it out if given a few more days, but the chance of getting those extra days seemed a bit slim, knowing Fury.

“Goddamn this thing,” he muttered quietly to himself. Of course, being so close, Loki had no trouble hearing him.

“Indeed,” he replied. “Do you think you can get it off?”

“I could, I just need more time.”

“You don’t have…”

“I know!” Tony hissed.

Silence.

“Would they let me stay?” Loki wondered silently. “If you can get it off, it would make sense…”

“Try reasoning with Fury,” Tony sighed. “Fat chance.”

As quiet as they had assumed they were, Thor had heard them. He came closer.

“I could try to persuade the Director,” he suggested. “I know you can do it, Tony. And I know… it would do Loki good to stay.”

Tony’s heart missed a beat. Did Thor know something he shouldn’t? How much did he know? Was he implying something?

“What do you mean?” Loki asked directly, and not too kindly.

Thor shrugged. “You don’t have many friends, but I know when you’ve made one.” With that, he went back to Steve and began talking quietly with him. Tony and Loki stared at each other for a brief moment before resuming the work.

 

Steve’s phone rang around six o’clock in the evening. They all knew who was calling, but waited for the Captain to finish the call and tell them the news anyway.

“That was Fury,” Steve sighed. “Coulson’s coming over.”

“Great,” Tony muttered, never lifting his gaze from the collar. He was racing against the clock, and the clock was winning. He felt Loki’s fingers briefly brush against his hip in a reassuring gesture, but they both knew there weren’t many options in the situation.

Tony hated SHIELD now more than in a while, which was saying something. They had treated him horribly, but somehow them trying to take Loki away  _ now  _ of all times gutted him more than anything. He wondered if he could put up a fight on his own. If he didn’t let Loki leave, what would Fury do? SHIELD had threatened force, sure, but would they go that far? What would Steve and Thor do? Thor at least seemed sympathetic and wanted Tony to keep working on the collar, but...

All too soon Jarvis announced Coulson, and begrudgingly Tony led his audience and Loki to meet him. On the way, Thor laid a hand on his shoulder and spoke to him quietly.

“I stand with you.”

Tony wasn’t sure what to think of that, but felt oddly encouraged.

Agent Coulson was customarily calm and serene, nodding to them all.

“Good evening,” he smiled. His eyes flickered to Loki’s neck. “How are you all?”

“Oh, peachy,” Tony replied, staring daggers at him.

“Good,” Coulson retorted. “I see the collar is still on.”

“Ever the observant one,” Tony sucked his teeth. Coulson was unfazed. 

“Well then, I thank you for your efforts, Mr Stark,” he nodded. “We’ll take it from here.”

Nobody moved.

“Yeah, you know,” Tony crossed his arms and masked his nervousness remarkably well. “I don’t think so.” _ It’s worth a shot,  _ he kept telling himself.  _ I can’t let this go. _

Coulson blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I can get that thing off in a matter of hours… a couple of days, at most. I’m not gonna let you take him.”

A silence washed over them all. Coulson stared, deadpan as ever; Steve glanced between them, Loki staring at Tony; Thor narrowed his eyes with determination.

“Mr Stark,” Coulson smiled. “We agreed on the terms. There is no room for negotiations here. Loki will come back with us.”

“Nah,” Tony shrugged. “He’s not. I’m your best bet.”

“Arrogant,” Coulson hummed with a serene smile. “But I’m afraid I’ll have to stick to the agreement, even if you’re not going to. Gentlemen, shall we go?” He turned to Loki, Steve, and Thor, but Steve was the only one who shifted a bit and looked unsure.

“I think Tony has a point,” Thor frowned. “He’s very close to removing the collar. Shouldn’t we give him a bit more time?”

Coulson looked like he was trying really hard to keep his serene smile plastered on his face.

“I’m afraid not,” he replied. “We’ll stick to what was agreed. Now, if you please…” he motioned towards the door, but no one moved.

“Phil,” Steve took a step closer. “I understand the point, but Tony  _ is  _ very close to figuring this out.”

“I’m sure our scientists can finish what he started,” Coulson argued.

“Just a few more days wouldn’t hurt,” Steve argued back. Tony was honestly shocked that Cap was taking his side.

“No,” Coulson’s smile never faltered, but there was a steely look in his eyes which told Tony that he was done playing. “Loki will come with us. Gentlemen?”

Thor stuck an arm in front of Loki, blocking his way. Coulson blinked again.

“If he does not come with me, he’s disobeying direct orders,” Coulson reminded them. “There are consequences for that, as I’ve understood.”

“He’s not disobeying, though,” Thor was quick to retort. “I’m sure he’d come gladly. I’m just not letting him.”

_ Son of a bitch, _ Tony grinned.

Coulson turned his eyes on Loki, who spread his arms seemingly helplessly.

“I am but a pawn.”

“Captain?” Coulson looked at Steve, hoping to find some support there. Steve looked a bit uncomfortable.

“Listen, Phil,” Steve sighed. “A few more days really wouldn’t hurt. I’m sure Fury will understand.”

Tony wasn’t so sure, and based on the slight twitch of Coulson’s lips, neither was he. He let out a brief sigh.

“Very well,” he nodded. Without another word, he left.

“Did we win?” Tony asked after he’d gone. Steve shook his head.

“I doubt it,” he crossed his arms. “But I suppose you have a few more minutes to work on the collar.”

“Uh,” Tony turned to them all. “Thanks? SHIELD’s not gonna be happy with you two.”

Thor shrugged. “I don’t serve them.”

“Your  _ dad’s  _ not gonna be happy with you.”

“Ah, well,” Thor grimaced. “He’ll… I’ll deal with it. I really think it’s in everyone’s best interest that you keep working on the collar.” Loki glanced at his brother, who gave him the smallest smile.

“What’s your excuse?” Tony turned to Steve, who rubbed his neck.

“Well… you’ve done a good job. And I trust your skills. Besides… I think this environment is a good change for Loki and Thor.” He looked at the brothers. Thor nodded.

“SHIELD has provided adequate lodgings, of course, but frankly, I’m sick of the same old walls. Wouldn’t you agree, Loki?”

Loki took a while to respond, but shrugged in an aloof manner. “This place is better decorated,” he said, then. Tony snorted in amusement. 

“I’d hope! Anyway, let’s get back to work. We might have interruptions later…”

Back at the lab, Tony began to meticulously laser at the collar again. The work was painfully slow and barely seemed to do a thing, and far too soon Jarvis had news for them.

“SHIELD quinjets have landed on the balconies, sir.”

Tony swore under his breath. 

“Now what?”

“I’ll go talk to them,” Steve stated and left. Tony wasn’t sure if he trusted him enough. 

“Jarvis, don’t let him open any doors to the outside.”

“No, sir.”

“Better get a visual.” 

Jarvis showed them the situation, and Tony sucked his teeth in distaste as he saw armed SHIELD agents pouring out of the planes.

“Coulson summoned the cavalry,” he scoffed as he saw Natasha and Clint emerge from a quinjet on the balcony of his penthouse. Soon Steve arrived on the other side of the wall, looking at them through the windows and communicating through the speakers.

_ “Captain,” _ Natasha greeted, deadpan. “ _ What’s the situation?” _

_ “I would like to give Stark a few more days,” _ Steve replied outright.

_ “I know,” _ Natasha retorted _. “Why? We had an agreement.” _

_ “It wasn’t an agreement Stark had anything to say about, ma’am.” _

_ “It was still agreed upon,” _ she continued. _ “Where is he?” _

“ _ Working,” _ Steve said. Even from a screen, Tony could see Natasha’s eyes flashing.

_ “Okay,” _ she huffed. _ “Come out and we’ll negotiate.” _

Steve nodded, but was stumped as the door wouldn’t open for him.

_ “I can’t.” _

_ “Stark,” _ Natasha called.  _ “We know you’re listening. If you’re not letting him out, come up so we can talk.” _

“As if that’s all you’re gonna do,” Tony muttered. “But fine. Come on, let’s go say hi to SHIELD.” He snapped a familiar bracelet on his wrist. He didn’t particularly want to fight anyone, but if things went south, he sure as hell was going to.

Tony, Loki, and Thor arrived in the room where Steve was idly waiting. Out on the balcony, Natasha and Clint were watching them while armed SHIELD personnel stood guard behind them.

“Nat, Clint!” Tony faked excitement, badly. “Did you miss me?”

“Tony, what are you trying to do?” Natasha asked, and exasperation seeped through her voice.

“What I was supposed to do,” Tony suggested. “Get the collar off.”

“We had a deal.”

“ _ You _ had a deal.”

“Look, Stark, just let Loki come with us and we can all forget this ever happened,” Clint said. “For fuck’s sake, I don’t wanna fight any of you.”

“Maybe Loki doesn’t want to come with you.”

“He doesn’t have a choice,” Natasha reminded them. “He’s serving his sentence, and there are repercussions if he doesn’t obey.”

“Loki would love nothing more than to comply,” Thor said, earning a magnificent glare from Loki, “but alas, I’m not letting him do as he pleases.” He placed a heavy hand on Loki’s shoulder, and Tony was sure there was an oddly grateful expression in Loki’s eyes.

“Yeah, come back in a few days,” Tony told the assassin. “The collar will be off by then. Bye!” He waved his hand with a mocking smile, but Natasha didn’t move a muscle.

“Stark, I don’t want to do this,” she said in a low voice. “But you’re forcing my hand.”

“Bring it.” All humor vanished from Tony’s demeanor.

“Captain,” Natasha spoke to Steve. “Which side do you stand on?”

Steve looked at her, eye to eye, and seemed conflicted. In the end, he sighed. “I can’t let you do this, Nat,” he said. “Just a few more days wouldn’t hurt anyone. If you attack them, I’ll defend them.”

Natasha stared at him, but then nodded slowly. She spoke quietly to a her companions, and then motioned with her hands. The armed goons behind her set up a formation and began forcing the door.

“Okay,” Tony clapped his hands together. “Loki, you go hide.”

Loki looked insulted, but Thor nodded and began pulling him away. They disappeared into a corridor as Tony instructed Jarvis on what defences to activate, and Steve prepared to meet the goons when they would eventually break through. Before anyone had time to properly do a thing, there was a blinding green flash and suddenly a tall, gorgeous woman stood in the middle of Tony’s living-room. 

“Well, well,” she purred, looking at everyone with a sultry smile. Both SHIELD troops and the people indoors froze in surprise. “Mr Stark, I do believe you have something that belongs to me.”

“Roger Fields?” Tony quipped, remembering ‘Amanda,’ quite vividly; but Amora, now standing there in her unabashed glory, radiated appeal far more than Tony recalled. She was gorgeous, but there was a very acute sense of danger and power around her. She laughed softly.

“Dear Roger? Is he still around?” she chuckled. “Useless. Weak-minded. But no, not him.” Her eyes scanned the room and met the narrowed eyes of Natasha on the other side of the window.

“Ah, you’ve got company,” Amora hummed. “Are they after my prey as well?”

“Depends,” Tony replied warily, his hand fingering the bracelet. “And anyway, where did you leave dear Vic? I thought you two were buddies.”

Amora’s smile was wicked. “Victor is busy elsewhere,” she replied. “He did, however, lend me some of his friends.”

With a wave of her hand, glowing portals appeared, one on the balcony, and one inside. They all watched in horror as Doom’s robots began pouring out, immediately attacking everyone in sight. Tony didn’t wait around any longer, and called for his suit; soon he was cocooned in the familiar, comforting metal again and blasted away a few bots. He noticed SHIELD fighting the ones outside as well.

“In my living-room!” Tony cried in outrage. “How dare you.”

“Oops,” Amora smiled sweetly and shot a sparkling bolt at Tony. He dodged narrowly, and the shot hit his pristine wall, leaving behind a charred hole.

“Come on,” Tony groaned. “I  _ just  _ had that redone. Seriously.”

“Give me what I want and no harm will be done,” Amora purred. Tony didn’t believe a single word.

“What  _ do  _ you want?” Tony blasted at her, but she threw up a magic shield which absorbed all the shots.

“I want what’s mine,” she replied. “And Victor wants what’s his. Or, well, what’s  _ yours _ . That suit will do fine, I’m sure. And after that, the thing in your chest.”

“Oh no,” Tony scoffed. “No deal. He can make his own.  _ What do you want? _ ”

Amora merely smiled and kept fighting. Tony had to really stay alert with her; she was immensely capable, and her magic was strong. Soon Tony found himself merely defending his life and trying to stop her from advancing deeper into his home. Steve had his hands full with robots, and occasional explosions from outside told Tony that Clint had made use of his special arrows once more.

A brief moment of calm arrived in the form of Thor, who appeared at the door, having stowed Loki somewhere safe (Tony hoped). Amora stopped blasting at Tony and focused her attention on the muscular god.

“ _ Darling _ ,” she purred. Thor glared at her, weighing Mjölnir in his hand.

“What do you want, Amora?” Thor asked bluntly. 

“Please, stop the charade,” she cooed. “You know what I want. A simple kiss is all I need, love.”

Thor merely glowered.

“And also, if you could hand dear Loki over, that would be lovely.”

“Why do you need him?” Tony had to ask. 

“Never you mind,” Amora spared him a fleeting glance. 

“You want the collar back, don’t you?” Tony pressed, and dodged a shot from a robot. Steve was doing remarkably well fending them off on his own.

Amora scoffed. “Victor and I could make a dozen of those in an instant.”

“You want Loki,” Thor narrowed his eyes at her. “Why?”

She licked her lips. “Let’s just say your brother has a lot of magic he could relinquish to me.”

Tony had to laugh. Amora glared at him. “What is so funny, tin man?”

“As if he’d relinquish anything to you.”

“In his current state, I don’t think he has a choice,” Amora sneered. “He’s not using his magic, anyway, so why not let me have it? I’m doing the world a favour.”

“Enough of this!” Thor bellowed; Tony’s sensors picked up a strong spike in electricity. “Amora, leave now or suffer the consequences.”

“Darling, you’ll soon change your mind,” she hummed and attacked them once more. 

Amora was vicious. She avoided physical combat, but her magic all but made up for it. Tony didn’t seem to get a hit in, and instead focused on helping Steve with the bots. Thor had Amora engaged, which was good enough for now; but Tony reckoned he’d have to once again remodel his penthouse. The Asgardians didn’t care about their surroundings much.

Tony was focused on the robots when suddenly a blast rocked the room. Amora and Thor had clashed, and a spell had apparently collided with Mjölnir, which had caused a shockwave strong enough to knock everyone down and shatter all of Tony’s windows. The lights went out.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Tony groaned as he got on his feet and observed the destruction. His liquor cabinet was nothing but shards and liquid. “I had some really good stuff in there!”

Now that the windows were gone, the battle spread. SHIELD agents were soon fighting the robots inside and out, and it got harder to dodge friendlies. Not that Tony would have minded accidentally blasting a SHIELD goon or two, but they were kind of on his side in this battle. 

A few robots ganged up on him, but were blasted off by Natasha. Steve masterfully blocked a few shots aimed straight at Clint’s head, and Clint nailed a few bots on Tony’s wall with his arrows as they were getting too close to Thor.

“Hey, Bird Boy, do you mind?” Tony huffed as a chunk of masoning got peeled off from his wall where three robots now hung.

“Sorry!” Clint grinned. “I think they make for good ornaments!”

“Remind me I’ll come decorate  _ your  _ house sometime,” Tony snorted. 

“ _ My _ house isn’t a battlefield.”

“It can be arranged!” Tony quipped, destroying a robot trying its best to turn Natasha into mash. “I’ll call my designer. Have a few doombots live with you, it’ll be great.”

Clint laughed, and Tony couldn’t help but grin. Luckily nobody could see inside his mask.

Thor and Amora weren’t nearly as jovial in their exchange. Thor wasn’t in the mood for fun, and seemed intent on destroying the woman. She had a grin plastered on her face, moving smoothly like a cat, and managing to block most of Thor’s attacks. He did get a few good hits in, sending her flying across the room, but she always bounced back. After a while, however, she seemed to grow frustrated, and her grin faded a bit. It was clearly taking longer than she had expected.

“Why don’t you just give me what I want!” she growled, shooting at Thor with every word.

Suddenly she froze, eyes fixed on the living-room entrance. A smile spread across her face.

“Loki, darling,” she purred and cast a protective shield on herself. Thor, noticing his attacks weren’t doing much, also turned to look at his brother.

“I told you to stay hidden!” he exclaimed. Loki shrugged, looking nonplussed. Tony also noticed the new development, and swore under his breath. He dashed next to Thor, the two of them the only barrier between Amora and Loki.

“Hello, Amora,” Loki said. “Haven’t seen you in a while. Are you enjoying your stay here?”

“Oh, very much,” she replied. “I would enjoy it more if you were with me.”

Loki scoffed. “Are you trying to make Thor jealous? I don’t know if it’s working.”

Amora glanced at Thor and winked at him.

“Only you can give me what I need,” she said to Loki.

“Let me guess. My magic?”

“Please.”

“No.”

“I thought so,” Amora sighed. “Well, I’ll just have to take it by force.”

“Don’t you dare,” Thor growled; lightning began to gather around his hands. “You can’t win this.”

“Oh, but I think I can,” Amora said sweetly. Robots kept coming from the portals.

“Then do,” Loki spread his arms, looking arrogant beyond measure. “I’m right here.”

Tony noticed that amid the battle, Natasha was obviously paying attention to what was happening.

Amora narrowed her eyes at Loki.

“You think you’ve come up with a plan,” she purred. “How pathetic. Still trying to cling to your so-called cunning,  _ God of Lies  _ \- when in reality, you’re just a sad, useless man with no merit to his name. Your magic was all you were, and now?  _ Nothing _ .”

Loki stared back at her, coolly. 

“Then come on,” he retorted. “Or are you scared? It makes sense; you’ve never been much of a fighter. Always hiding behind your pretty shields and spells. And tell me… what do you really look like, under all that magic? Most of your allure is nothing but an illusion, everyone knows that. Funny how eagerly everyone always ignores the fact that you’re actually just a disgusting old hag.”

“Shut up!” Amora spat. “You know nothing!”

“Please,” Loki rolled his eyes. “I played an attractive woman for almost a year. Allure isn’t difficult to fake. Anyone could do it. What you call magic is nothing more than a party trick.”

Amora seethed. It seemed Loki had found a sore spot, and Tony really wasn’t sure if taunting her was the best idea - but then he noticed the portal in his living-room flickered and faded, leaving the one at the balcony the only one. Amora was staring daggers at Loki, and didn’t seem to have noticed.

“It’s rather sad,” Loki continued coolly, “that you need to rely on magic to get yourself some love. Or is it the only option you have left, since no one wants you unless they’re under a spell?”

Amora let out a shrill laugh. “Oh, you think you’re so good,” she sneered, but Tony could tell Loki had gotten under her skin. 

“Yes, I do think so,” Loki retorted. “Besides… what kind of a sorcerer are you, when you can’t even do magic if you  _ can’t use your hands _ ? Weak.”

Tony made a mental note of this little fact. He had no doubt in his mind that Loki was trying to tell them how to neutralize her.

“You’re one to talk,” Amora scoffed. “Where’s  _ your  _ magic? You know you’re defenseless, and are trying to save yourself by talking rubbish. I can’t wait to see the magic drain from you,  _ for good _ .”

“Maybe you can wait a bit longer,” Natasha said; she had snuck up on Amora, noticed her shield weakening, and was now holding a gun against the back of her head. Tony was impressed, but felt chilled to the bone as Amora merely smiled softly.

“Oh, little girl,” the Enchantress sighed. “You should know better than to oppose a goddess.”

Natasha pulled the trigger. For one glorious moment Tony thought it had worked, but no - Amora was faster. Her magic reflected the bullet, which hit one of Tony’s already broken ceiling lights. She raised her arms, and suddenly Natasha was floated in midair. Before Tony could even register it, Amora had thrown the assassin towards the wall with horrifying speed.

It would’ve been the end of Natasha Romanoff, had Loki not stood nearby; with astounding prowess, he dove for her and softened her fall enough to save her from cracking all of her bones, crashing into the wall with her on top of him. Amora didn’t wait and advanced on them, vindication in her eyes and a cruel smile on her lips, magic crackling in her hands. She raised an arm and shot a blazing, piercing bolt of magic at them - Tony didn’t need to know magic to understand that it was meant to kill. Loki was probably going to get his magic drained, but Natasha was in the way, and Amora didn’t seem forgiving of the assassination attempt.

Clint roared in rage, seeing what was going on; Steve threw his shield in a vain effort to help, Thor reached to Amora to stop her, and Tony prepared to shoot her to bits.

At the last minute, Loki managed to shove Natasha aside, and the magic bolt meant to kill her hit him, instead. Tony’s heart stopped as Loki collapsed on the floor, unmoving. Amora laughed, but made a mistake in letting her guard down for that brief moment. The punch Thor landed on her cheek was the most savage one Tony had seen.

“Tony, get them out of here!” Steve called while running to help Thor with Amora, who had recovered and was relentlessly firing erratic bursts of magic at Thor. Tony hurried over to Loki and Natasha, the latter shaking her head and picking herself up from the floor.

Tony turned Loki around to assess the damage. Strangely, there didn’t seem to be too much wrong with him - his neck was bloody, but it wasn’t anything too serious. He stirred as Tony moved him, and they both soon noticed that the collar was broken.

“How the hell…” Tony muttered; he took hold of the collar and pried it off of Loki easily. “Amora’s spell must have broken it.”

Loki grinned weakly but wickedly as he struggled to sit himself up. “I figured as much.”

“One problem solved,” Natasha hummed, crawling over to them, disheveled but alive. “Look!” she then pointed at the last portal on the balcony. It kept flickering, but maintained its shape. Amora was cornered by Steve and Thor, but far from defeated - yet, her focus was on them, and clearly the portals had required some thought from her.

“We need to distract her more,” Tony stated. He glanced at Loki. “You can’t stay here.”

“I’ll defend him,” Natasha looked at Tony seriously. “You go add pressure on Amora.”

“Like hell I’m going to trust you to…”

“As if either you have any say,” Loki scoffed, but didn’t sound convincing since his voice was weak and he could barely sit upright. 

“Neither of you are fit to fight,” Tony huffed at Natasha and Loki. “Just get out of firing range, alright? Jarv, see that she stays in line.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. Tony glanced at Loki for one more time before joining Steve and Thor in their fight against Amora.

For someone who was outnumbered so badly, the Enchantress sure put up an impressive fight. Her shields seemed impenetrable, her shots were fast and painful, and she still managed to keep the portal open. SHIELD agents were fending the robots off quite well, with Clint as their lead.

In the midst of the chaos, Tony suddenly noticed a robot emerging from the portal, carrying a device similar to what he had seen at Doom’s compound, and which had taken Loki out. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the robot aiming the thing at Thor.

“Thor, look out!” he cried, but the robot had already fired. Luckily Thor had reacted to Tony’s warning, and dodged. However, it wasn’t enough, and the electricity-like beam hit his right arm. Thor cried in pain and fell on his knees, while Clint took the robot out with one precise arrow. Thor held his arm, which seemed stiff and lifeless. He picked up Mjölnir in his left hand and struggled back on his feet. Amora smiled.

“Darling, want me to kiss it better?”

Thor glared at her and went back to the fight, but was clearly in pain and couldn’t perform half as well as before. It was worrying, and Tony had no idea how the whole ordeal was going to end. Amora was relentless, and the stream of robots seemed to have no end. If SHIELD was sending back-up, it hadn’t arrived yet; and there definitely was no sign of Bruce. Maybe that was a good thing - the Hulk might have been able to clear the robots out, but Tony suspected not much else would be left afterwards.

Amora hit him in the head and Tony’s suit went a bit haywire. Tony regained most of the functionality quite quickly, but something seemed off. The suit responded sluggishly at times, and it made it hard to fight. Thor was struggling with his injury, and Steve was starting to look tired, as well.  Amora noticed their weaknesses, and laughed shrilly.

“Glad to see you’re enjoying yourself,” a voice called to her, and Tony was horrified to see Loki standing up and addressing Amora. Behind him, Natasha was shaking her head, trying vainly to stop him. Amora grinned and turned her attention on him, holding up a strong shield to protect herself from the attacks. She looked strained; the shield was clearly taking a lot of energy from her, but it made her invulnerable. She seemed unable to attack with it on, however.

“Oh, not dead, are you dear?” she purred. “My, I didn’t mean to ignore you so.”

“I’ll forgive you,” Loki hummed. “Why don’t we step outside to chat?”

Amora narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t try your tricks with me,” she chuckled. “I’m no fool.”

“That’s a matter of debate,” Loki replied drily. 

“I grow tired of this,” Amora said coldy and destroyed her protective shield in a magical blast which knocked back everyone around her. She cast a bright spell on Loki, but to her surprise, he deflected it with a wave of his hand. Amora stared at him, seething.

“You wanted this?” Loki held up the broken collar. “I’m sorry. It got a bit damaged. You should be more careful with your magic.”

Amora practically screeched in rage and attacked Loki. Tony could tell he wasn’t in any kind of condition to have a battle with Amora - even with the collar gone, Loki’s magic was still diminished, and he was wounded. Steve, Thor, and Tony jumped to his aid, and once more they fought Amora. She was focused on Loki, and whether she was trying to absorb his magic or kill him, they didn’t know; all Tony cared about was not letting her harm him.

Loki fought back the best he could, but soon had to settle to defending himself. He blocked her spells, which enraged her further, but every time he did so his legs faltered and he had to struggle not to fall down. Natasha was often by his side, shooting at Amora and occasionally steadying Loki (which Tony was sure hurt his pride more than anything else that day).

Tony didn’t know where Amora found all her strength - probably adrenaline from being so outnumbered and cornered - but she kept going. Every time she tired to focus her attacks on Tony, Thor, or Steve, Loki taunted her and she returned her attention to him. Loki was infuriating, insulting and belittling her, and for whatever reason, it got to her. Soon Tony noticed the portal flickering, and realised Loki was drawing Amora’s mental attention enough to keep her from focusing on the portal.

_ Good plan, but damn you,  _ Tony thought to himself.  _ She’s going to destroy you _ . And the thought made his heart ache.

 

Frigga walked along the vast corridor, her steps determined. As she approached the great doors, Heimdall came through them and bowed at her. She nodded to him in response, and proceeded to enter the hall where Odin had just met with him.

“How are our sons?” she asked her husband, who was sitting on his throne, leaning on the arm rest but straightening himself as she addressed him.

“Well enough,” he replied tersely. Frigga came closer.

“Have you given thought to Loki’s punishment?”

“I give thought to a lot of things.”

Frigga wasn’t having it. “Hasn’t he proved himself enough, already?”

Odin looked at her and narrowed his eye. “Have you been talking to Heimdall, as well?”

“Perhaps,” Frigga’s small smile betrayed nothing. “And perhaps not. It’s been almost a year and Loki has done nothing but obeyed the ones at SHIELD.”

Odin sighed. “He’s done so begrudgingly.”

“Is that a wonder?” Frigga huffed. “You wouldn’t like servitude.”

“He’s supposed to learn,” Odin retorted. “What he did cannot be amended overnight. Surely you understand.”

“Of course I do,” Frigga sighed. “But you know as well as I do that it wasn’t entirely him. You know he wouldn’t have done that, had he been in his right mind.  _ You know your son. _ ”

“He’s not my son,” Odin hummed. “Not according to his own words.”

Frigga’s eyes hardened. “He  _ is  _ your son,” she stated coolly. “And he is  _ my  _ son. I don’t care what he says, I don’t care that I didn’t give birth to him - I raised him as mine,  _ and he is mine _ .”

Odin looked at her long. He averted his eye and sighed.

“He has served them well,” Frigga said softly and touched his arm gently. “He saved a life just a moment ago, at the risk of his own - and he’s helping them defend Midgard from Amora.”

“That foolish girl,” Odin huffed. 

“He’s fighting her, even though he knows he can’t win,” Frigga’s voice was strangled. “Please. Hasn’t he proved himself already?”

Odin frowned.

“Return to him what is his,” Frigga pleaded softly. “And let him come home.”

“Will he want to come home?” Odin scoffed. 

“Only one way to find out,” Frigga smiled at him gently.


	23. The Power

Tony was seriously starting to think that this battle might not have a good outcome. Amora was getting more erratic, but still held her own; the portal flickered, but didn’t fade. Thor was in no condition to fight, and kept making small but crucial mistakes. Amora got more hits on him than the others. Loki had noticed this, and kept drawing her attention to himself.

The problem with that was, of course, that Loki wasn’t up for a fight, either. Steve and Tony did their all to both engage Amora and protect the others. Clint held the robots at bay, and Natasha had recovered enough to help him and the SHIELD agents.

A lucky hit from Amora sent Thor flying. He hit a wall and didn’t get up from the floor where he fell. Amora’s grin was victorious. She blasted at Steve and cast a shield on herself, advancing towards Thor like a hunting lioness.

“Hey! We’re over here!” Tony called to her, shooting rockets at her which she easily thwarted.

“In a moment, I’ll just give my love a kiss of encouragement,” Amora lilted.

“Don’t you dare!” Tony had no intention on watching Thor become her slave the way Fields had succumbed to her. All of a sudden, Loki was standing next to Thor. Amora noticed him and stopped in her tracks.

“A valiant effort,” she jeered. “But your illusions haven’t fooled me in centuries.” She glanced over to the other side of the room, where Loki had just been, and was still standing. She looked at the Loki next to Thor with a cruel smile, and quickly sent a nasty spell flying behind her, towards the Loki at the other end of the room. Tony’s heart stopped as the spell hit - but then laughed as the magic went through the image of Loki and hit a wall; Loki’s illusion there disappeared.

“I beg to differ,” the Loki next to Thor spoke, and slammed Amora with a spell. She reeled back, eyes wide with shock, but then bounced back with a snarl. Tony could see that Loki was exhausted. He blasted at Amora the moment she attacked Loki, and managed to hit her. Unfortunately, her blow on Loki hit hard, and the god fell down.

Steve tossed his shield and hit Amora’s outstretched arm, holding back her attack. For a while, he and Tony were able to distract the Enchantress, but Thor wasn’t moving and Loki tried to get up, having little luck.

“You bitch,” Tony muttered between gritted teeth as he kept shooting at her, hoping against hope that she would finally go down. “Don’t you _dare_.”

Amora’s shield seemed impenetrable as she knelt down to Thor and raised his head. He was starting to come to, trying to open his eyes, but couldn’t resist her. At  the last moment, Loki managed to grab Amora’s wrist in a tight hold.

She was shocked at him being able to reach her through the shield, and even more shocked when she couldn’t shake him off.

“I think it’s time to end this,” Loki huffed. Amora’s eyes widened as Loki conjured a long spear in his other hand, using it to help himself up - and drag her with him. In a golden shimmer, he was soon clad in his armor, horned helmet and all. Tony’s heart skipped as he saw Loki’s wounds healing before his eyes. Loki closed his eyes and exhaled, clearly savoring the situation, and Tony had chills down his spine as he could almost feel the power surging back to Loki.

“You…” Amora’s eyes flashed and her shield dropped as she yanked her hand away. “How?”

Loki merely smiled. Tony noticed that Amora’s portal flickered and faded.

The SHIELD agents found new energy from this victory, and attacked the remaining robots with vigor. Loki wasted no time attacking Amora, who was now in trouble. She was already tired, and Loki renewed.

Loki, Tony, and Steve surrounded Amora and put all the pressure on her they could manage. Loki deflected her magic easily, and was able to cut through her shields whenever she threw one up. The battle was quick, erratic, and effective. Amora put up a shield again, but the moment it faded, Tony saw his chance. He was behind her, and grabbed her arm as it swung closer when she was preparing another spell. Amora screamed in rage, turning to face him with murder in her eyes, which gave Loki an opening. He took hold of her other arm, and quickly he and Tony brought them together behind her back.

Natasha tossed a set of handcuffs to Steve, who slapped them on Amora in no time. Tony was actually surprised to notice that Amora was indeed incapable of doing magic with her hands bound. Well, maybe there was some magic at her disposal, but her destructiveness stopped the moment they had bound her.

She still seethed and tried to struggle free, but Steve took a firm hold of her. She settled to cursing and damning Loki and the rest of them to the deepest pits of hell, swearing vengeance. Loki ignored her and went to Thor, who was shaking his head, trying to clear it.

Tony couldn’t see what Loki did, but assumed some magic was involved since soon he was helping Thor on his feet. Thor stretched his right arm gingerly; it still wasn’t fully functional, but was getting better. He nodded to Loki with a warm smile.

There were still robots left, so Loki and Tony helped SHIELD clear out what remained. Before long, the room was full of robot parts and rubble; every time someone walked around, broken glass crunched under their feet. Nobody really knew what to say; injured agents were trying to tend to their wounds, others took a breather, and Tony removed his helmet and observed the destruction of his lovely room. Nobody said a thing, except Amora, who was still trying to hurt them with words. Eventually Loki got fed up with her, and cast a spell of some sort on her; she kept moving her mouth, but no sound came out. This infuriated her even more, but in the end, she realized she had lost, and settled to seething quietly in her place. Steve never let go of her, just in case.

Before they had time to process everything that had just happened, more SHIELD quinjets arrived, and out of one stepped Coulson and Fury. Tony was less than pleased to see them, but behind them he could see Bruce, hovering at the quinjet door. He gave Tony a brief smile as their eyes met.

“I hope you brought the clean-up crew,” Tony was the first to speak as Fury strode over to meet him. The Director narrowed his eye.

“Just what happened?”

“We’ve captured Amora, sir,” Steve said, taking a step closer and pulling the Enchantress with him.

“And Loki has regained his powers,” Thor noted. Fury directed his gaze on Loki, who stood tall and straight, holding his spear like a damn king. Tony couldn’t help but feel strangely proud.

“Is that true?” Fury inquired.

Loki nodded.

“And the collar?” the Director glanced at Loki’s neck.

“If you want it, it’s here,” Loki said and produced the broken collar out of thin air. Tony wanted to snatch it from him, but Loki had given it to Fury before he could do a thing.

Fury examined the collar dubiously.

“I’m afraid Amora finished it off,” Loki shrugged. Fury sighed and handed the collar to Coulson for safe-keeping. He then turned to Tony.

“Stark,” he stated. Tony raised a brow. “I was told you broke our agreement.”

“We’ve been through this,” Tony rolled his eyes. “Seriously. And I’m in no mood to talk about this, just look at the state of my home!”

Fury didn’t look. He kept staring at Tony.

“Sir,” Steve said. “I think the outcome is such that we could just start afresh.”

“I agree,” Natasha nodded. “The issue has sorted itself out, in a sense.”

Fury looked at them both, and then returned his eye on Tony.

“Well then,” the Director said. “I’m glad to be done with you.”

“Likewise,” Tony snorted. “Just never bother me again. Ever.”

Fury raised a brow, but made no comment.

“Where do we put her?” Clint flicked a thumb towards Amora. Fury didn’t have time to answer anything before Thor butted in.

“Loki and I will take her to Asgard,” he told them. “Since Loki’s powers have returned, he’s no longer in your service, and can accompany me back home. Amora is wanted for several crimes in Asgard, and it’s time for her to face the consequences.”

Tony glanced at Loki. Back to Asgard? Already? Loki didn’t look to excited, either.

“You can’t just whisk her away!” Fury argued. “She’s caused trouble here, as well, and needs to be held accountable…”

“Come on, Nick,” Tony grinned. “Just let her go. Who knows, she might be sent back to serve you. Seems to be the custom.”

“Unlikely,” Thor shook his head. “Really, Director, there is no room for argument, here. Amora will come with us.” He went over to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from Steve. Loki took a hold of her other arm, and the brothers stood by her sides like guards. Every pore in Amora’s body radiated hatred.

Fury exhaled heavily through his nose and nodded to Thor. Then he turned back and gave the SHIELD people orders on an orderly departure. Natasha and Clint stood still, locking eyes with Tony.

“Well,” Clint cleared his throat. “This was fun.”

“Let’s do this again, at your place,” Tony retorted. Clint huffed in amusement. The situation was getting kind of awkward.

“See you around, Stark,” Natasha nodded. Tony said nothing, but nodded back. The assassins turned to leave, and Bruce hurried over to Tony.

“Listen, uh, I’ll come by?” he tried to avoid the glass on the floor. “I don’t know if SHIELD needs me at this point...”

“Call me,” Tony smiled. “I might be a bit busy with cleaning this up, but…”

“Do you need me to help?” Steve offered.

“Cap, I’ll just hire people,” Tony sighed. “I wasn’t actually gonna clear this mess by myself. It was a joke.”

“Oh. Of course. Best of luck with everything, Tony.” Steve smiled and slapped him on the shoulder before heading for the quinjets with Bruce. Tony turned to the Asgardians. Loki was staring at the SHIELD jets, but soon let go of Amora and was standing in front of Tony in a few strides.

“When you start working on Spellblock again,” he spoke in a low voice, “make sure to incorporate this.” He took Tony’s hand and placed something in it. When Tony looked, he saw the tiny blue gem that had been embedded in the collar.

“You sly thing,” he grinned. Loki’s smile was brief but dazzling, and Tony would’ve kissed him right there and then had he not returned to Thor and Amora.

Loki didn’t take a hold of Amora, but merely stood there, looking at her and Thor. Tony could tell he wasn’t into the whole idea of going back to Asgard, and now that he had his powers again, who could force him?

Thor seemed to read the same from Loki’s expression.

“Loki, we need to take her home,” Thor said in a low voice, staring at Loki intensely. “I can’t do it on my own. I need you, brother.”

Loki stood still as a statue, but finally his shoulders slumped the tiniest bit and he grabbed Amora’s arm again. Thor flashed him a grateful smile.

“We’ll see you soon, Tony Stark,” Thor promised as he nodded to Tony. “Take care.”

Tony’s eyes were locked on Loki’s until the three Asgardians disappeared in a golden shimmer, and he was left staring at nothing but his crumbled walls.

Coulson was the last to address him, and he only stayed to settle a few practical things with Tony. SHIELD would send people to haul away the robot bits littering Tony’s floor, which he agreed on. Before they arrived, Tony went through the rubble to see if he could find the device the robots had used to injure Thor, but to no avail. Either it had been destroyed or taken, but it wasn’t there.

When SHIELD had gone, Tony was left on his own. He got out of the suit and decided not to bother with the destruction of his living-room that night. He did have the presence of mind to inform Pepper of everything, though she was already aware. Jarvis had wisely instructed her to steer clear of the fight.

Together they went to see Fields, who had thankfully recovered from Amora’s love spell. The poor man was extremely apologetic and said he understood if Tony needed to fire him. He told what had happened to him, as far as he could remember, and swore he would never have tried to betray Tony if in his right mind. Pepper did most of the talking for Tony, which was probably good; not that Tony had anything against Fields, but mistakes had definitely been made. Still, he let the guy continue working for him, although advised him to stay away from mysteriously attractive women.

Tony didn’t sleep that night. Too much had happened, and too much was still left unanswered. Where was Doom? Why had Amora worked with him? Was Doom her slave, or had they had some strange agreement? Why had she wanted Loki’s magic?

And was Loki going to come back?

To distract himself from these thoughts, he headed for the lab with the small blue gem and worked 20 hours straight, after which he passed out on the sofa.

 

Bruce came by a week later, and Tony was more than happy about that. He told him that the Four had been on Doom’s trail while Amora had wreaked havoc at Tony’s place, but very little else was known about the matter.

“Fury’s not pleased,” Bruce grinned. “The Four don’t like to tell him much, and it drives him crazy. They assure him that Doom is under control, but refuse to say anything more.”

“Good,” Tony scoffed. “The less Fury knows, the better. Was Doom Amora’s slave?”

“I guess not,” Bruce shrugged. “But again, the Four are very tight-lipped.”

“Oh, well,” Tony sighed. He glanced at Bruce awkwardly before continuing. “Any word from Thor?”

“Not so far. I wonder if Loki’s going to be a problem later.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, he got his powers back, which means he could cause trouble if he wanted to,” Bruce shrugged.

Tony stared. He didn’t want to believe that could happen, but Bruce was right. They had no guarantee it couldn’t.

“Though,” Bruce looked at him curiously, “I think he made connections while he was with us. Maybe he’s not feeling too murderous about _all_ of us.”

Bruce’s gaze was more meaningful than Tony was comfortable with. He quickly directed the conversation elsewhere.

 

Tony made good progress with Spellblock. The blue gem, now freed from the collar, in addition to the insane amount of data from the battle with Amora, offered so many new options and solutions that Tony’s mind was buzzing around the clock. He worked incredibly hard on it, and finally managed to produce a working prototype.

Or, well, what he assumed was a working prototype. He still couldn’t test it on anything, since he didn’t have any magical friends.

If Loki came back, would he agree to be a test subject?

.... would he come back? Had their time together actually meant anything to him? Or had he just suffered a case of the Stockholm syndrome?

 _I shouldn’t even care_ , he thought, but couldn’t help it.

 

Tony was a bit surprised to see Thor on his balcony the week after, and a lot disappointed that Loki wasn’t with him. Thor greeted him with a warm hug and a beaming smile, and Tony couldn’t have refused to let him in even if he had wanted to.

“I see you’ve made progress with this place,” Thor commented, looking around Tony’s penthouse which had been cleared of rubble and re-windowed. It still lacked many finishing touches, but those were already scheduled.

“Yeah, well, I just called the same people who handled it before,” Tony snorted. “They hadn’t even had time to get rid of the old plans yet.”

Thor nodded, impressed, and Tony offered him a drink. They sat together on the sofa - covered in plastic to protect it from the paintwork done on the ceiling the day before - and drank in silence.

“So,” Tony couldn’t help himself anymore. “How’s things in Asgard?”

“Good,” Thor replied, and his expression told Tony that he wasn’t lying. “Amora’s been dealt with.”

“You mean she’s…?”

“In prison.”

“Oh.” Tony wasn’t sure if Asgard was one of those places who preferred death and servitude on other planes to simple imprisonment. He wasn’t sure which of those he wouldn’t wanted for Amora.

“How’s Loki?” he asked before he could stop himself.

“Also good,” Thor smiled. “I think. His powers returned in full, and he’s been given pardon.”

“What is he going to do now?”

“He said he would visit Midgard,” Thor said, and Tony’s heart skipped, “but didn’t want to come with me. Said he had business to tend to, first.” Thor looked a bit uncomfortable, and Tony assumed it was because there was no way of knowing what Loki’s “business” would include.

“Well, he’s probably enjoying his freedom,” Tony offered. Thor hummed in agreement.

“Tony,” he looked at him seriously. “I need to thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“Uh,” Tony had no idea how to react. “You’re welcome, but for what, exactly?”

“Even after what Loki did to you - or was made to do - you were able to let it go and treat him like a friend,” Thor smiled warmly. “I can’t begin to tell you how important that was. Loki never said a thing to me about it, but I could tell he found a friend in you. I could tell a lot of things.”

Thor’s expression made Tony feel seriously uncomfortable. His heart began to race - just what did Thor know?

“Glad to be of use,” Tony raised his glass at him, hoping to diffuse the tension he suddenly felt. Thor replied in kind, his eyes never leaving Tony’s.

 _What do you know??_ Tony wanted to scream at him, but held his tongue.

“I hope that spending time with Loki after dating Lori for so long hasn’t been too confusing for you,” Thor’s expression darkened suddenly.

“Well, you know,” Tony scrambled for an answer. “It was weird. But it’s fine. They’re like two different people.”

“But they aren’t,” Thor replied. “I just need you to know that while you saw two people, Loki only saw one.”

Tony nodded slowly. There was no way he would tell Thor that he’d had this conversation already with Loki, and that they were fine with it. Like, extremely fine and on the same page, peachy. Thor got up.

“I have a feeling Loki might visit you,” he said. “I’ll be staying on Midgard for a week or two. Call me if you need anything.”

“Do you have a phone?” Tony raised a brow. Thor whipped out a cellphone.

“SHIELD gave me this,” he explained. “They don’t use ravens, so I guess this is the next best thing. This is my number.” He dug out a piece of paper on which his number was written, clearly on Coulson’s handwriting. Tony entered it into his phone.

“I’ll give you a call,” Tony raised his thumbs. Thor beamed, and bid his farewell.

After he’d left, a strange anticipation took over Tony. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but Loki might be coming back - and it made him disgustingly giddy.


	24. The Return

“Sir,” Jarvis said one ordinary day a week after Thor’s visit, “Mr Loki is standing on the balcony of your penthouse.”

Tony almost dropped the wrench he was holding and sat up from underneath his car. 

He didn’t know what to say or do, but thankfully his brain caught up with him soon.

“Visual, Jarv.”

Tony stared at the security camera image. Loki was indeed standing outside, dressed in a kind of a toned-down version of his usual armor. He stood there, calmly staring at the door, not making an effort to come in or alert anyone.

It was a bit weird.

Tony got up, wiped his hands, and didn’t care that he was wearing just a tank top and oil-stained jeans. There was no time for grooming - the situation needed sorting immediately.

Only once he had arrived in his penthouse and told Jarvis to open the door for Loki did he realise that he had no protection whatsoever. Having spent so much time with Loki before, he had assumed there would be no danger involved; but the god was at his full strength, and who knew how he was feeling about Earth and everyone on it.

Loki stepped in gracefully, but cautiously, his eyes never leaving Tony. He eyed him up and down, and Tony raised a brow at his parted lips and wide eyes.

“What?” Tony crossed his arms. “You don’t appreciate my look? I assure you this is the latest fashion.”

“On the contrary,” Loki smiled briefly. “I… appreciate it very much.”

He sounded so honest that Tony was dumbfounded. This was not going how he’d expected it to go. Well, to be honest, he had no idea what he had expected, but it wasn’t the immediate spark and attraction and, dear God,  _ flirt _ , that he had gotten.

Tony cleared his throat. “So, back again?”

“I had unfinished business,” Loki hummed. “I needed to find out certain things, and correct others.”

He was in front of Tony in two long strides, holding a small package he had produced seemingly out of nowhere. Tony looked; it was a rectangular box, wrapped neatly in simple paper and tied with some string. Loki offered it to him, and he took it, completely perplexed.

“Open it,” Loki urged, actually looking a bit nervous.

Tony had no idea what to expect when he unwrapped the present, and was even more confused when he took a Stark phone out of the box. He looked at Loki in utter confusion.

“I thought it fair you got it back,” Loki shrugged sheepishly. Tony stared, and then burst out laughing.

“Is this the one I gave you?”

Loki nodded. “I didn’t get to use it much, and then SHIELD kept it.”

“You mean you stole it back?” Tony grinned. Loki smiled wickedly.

“It was laughably easy.”

Tony chuckled. Then, the grabbed Loki’s wrist and placed the phone in his hand.

“I gave it to you, so it’s yours,” he smiled. “My number’s still on it, I hope.”

Loki wrapped his fingers around the phone, mirth sparkling in his eyes.

“I did bring you another present,” he said, then. He flicked his wrist and Tony actually jumped back in shock as a large pile of metal and circuitry appeared in the middle of the room with a loud crash.

“ _ What the…? _ ”

“It’s most of what SHIELD managed to cheat from you,” Loki explained. “I salvaged what I could.”

Tony went to the pile and had to believe it. This was his tech, his stuff, a mountain of equipment SHIELD had acquired from him during the Lori Scheme. He picked up a piece and turned to look at Loki, absolutely flabbergasted.

“How did you…?”

“Do you really think SHIELD security is a match for me?” Loki scoffed. “I spent almost a year with them. You think I didn’t memorize every turn? You think I couldn’t sneak in and take what I wanted without being noticed?”

Tony tossed the metal piece back to the pile and grinned wildly. “I wouldn’t think to doubt you.”

Loki’s smile was one of the most sincere ones Tony had seen. He came closer.

“So… what’s your plan?” he asked the god, as casually as he could. “What are you gonna do now that you’re free again?”

Loki licked his lips. “I thought I’d stay on Midgard for a while,” he shrugged. “There’s a lot I want to explore here.”

“Do you have a place to stay?”

Loki blinked. “Well, I...”

“You’re welcome to stay here,” Tony stepped even closer. “If you want. I’ve got space.”

“You do?” Loki murmured, shivering almost unnoticeably as Tony touched his arm tentatively.

“Oh yeah. You can even borrow my bed. I’m in it only sometimes.”

Loki let out a breathy laugh. “Maybe if I time it right, I can catch you in it.”

“You only need to ask,” Tony hummed, and kissed him.

 

Loki did indeed stay, and never even sought another bed than Tony’s. He was gone often, and kept strange hours - but then again, so did Tony. They got along surprisingly well, accepting each other’s odd schedules and unhealthy habits; Tony would often pass out in the workshop, and Loki would often come back from his outings bloodied and bruised. They were both there for one another, and knew not to press the issue too much. Tony was sure they’d clash sooner or later, but chose not to think about it. He didn’t want to think about their relationship too much, anyway - he was incredibly happy with how things were, and fussing about the future was pointless. Loki came and went, but always returned, and it was more than enough.

What’s more, Loki agreed to be the test subject for Spellblock. They were standing in the lab, Tony giving the device final touches. Loki looked nervous and uncomfortable, and Tony wasn’t surprised - he’d spent so long with limited magic or no magic at all that this couldn’t be a pleasant experience for him. Tony was immensely grateful that he had agreed to help, and surprisingly proud of his bravery.

“Alright,” Tony turned to him. “I’m gonna switch it on, so describe everything you’re feeling.” He activated Spellblock, and the only thing that told him it was on were the readings and the gentle light from the device itself.

Loki swallowed. “I feel it,” he whispered. He raised his hand and tried to do magic - nothing happened. “It’s working.”

Tony wanted to whoop, but resisted; Loki looked so uncomfortable that Tony turned Spellblock off. Loki sighed in relief and cast an illusion on a screwdriver just to make sure. Tony stared at his tool, now appearing to be a snake.

“Thanks,” Tony smiled gently. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Use this wisely,” Loki motioned to Spellblock seriously. “It’s a great protection for you, against malevolent beings, but…”

“Listen,” Tony came closer and wrapped his arms around his waist. “I’m not just gonna flick it on without a reason or a warning. I don’t want you to start avoiding this place. Or me.”

Loki smiled and pressed a kiss on his forehead.

“Good,” he hummed. “Still… you can turn it on sometimes. I would be interested to learn how long it can resist me.”

“What?” Tony craned his neck to look at him better, narrowing his eyes.

“Oh, I’m sure I can counter the effect, given time,” Loki replied. 

“But it’s got the gem from the collar…”

Loki scoffed. “The collar was  _ on  _ me, directly hindering my magic. But this? It’s like a fog clouding my abilities. Given enough time and effort, I'm sure I can cut through it.”

“Right, well,” Tony rolled his eyes. “Glad to hear my great invention is nothing but a speed bump for you magic users...”

“None of your enemies are going to spend long enough in its radius to counter it,” Loki assured him. “Besides, if I can cut through the effect, we can use that information to improve it.”

“ _ We? _ ” Tony raised a brow. “Are you saying you’d help me improve and enhance a device which can seriously weaken you?”

“Are you planning on using it on me?” Loki asked shrewdly. Tony kissed him in reply.

“Not if you don’t give me a reason to.”

Loki grinned. “It’s a deal.”

“So,” Tony stepped back a bit, pulling up images of the blue gem. “What exactly is this thing?”

“In want of a better word, a mana gem,” Loki replied. Tony raised an unimpressed brow.

“Sounds like a thing from a video game.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Call it what you want.”

“Right, whatever,” Tony pressed on. “But how does it work? Where did it come from? Did Amora make it?”

“Certainly not,” Loki scoffed and flopped down on the couch. Tony followed suit. “She didn’t make it, nor did she even mine it. It comes from another realm, and I’m guessing she either stole it or found it.”

“So what is it?”

“A very rare gemstone with magical abilities,” Loki replied, and Tony would’ve guessed as much. “It’s known for its uses in obstructing or controlling magic. So far, I haven’t heard of anyone using it quite in the way Amora, Doom, or you used it, but in its home realm, the people use it in protective wards and decorations. Obviously, Amora and you have found a way to amplify the effect.”

“That’s a bit scary,” Tony hummed. “Somebody could just go mine them and wreak havoc across the realms.”

“True,” Loki said slowly, “but they’re very hard to mine. The landscape is inhospitable. Maybe I’ll take you there sometime.”

Tony’s eyes lit up. 

“Really? You could?”

“Of course,” Loki grinned. “If you’re up for it.”

“Anytime, baby,” Tony chuckled. 

Loki frowned.

“Don’t call me baby.”

“Alright, sorry,” Tony shrugged. He gave Loki a sideways glance. “Honey?”

“ _ No _ .”

“Sweetie?”

“No…”

“Sugar puff?”

“Please stop.”

“Come on, munchkin, don’t be like that.”

“I can’t believe you.”

Tony grinned wickedly and tackled Loki to the couch. “Precious? Cuddle bug? Honey-bunny?”

Loki couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll make sure one day you wake up with rabbit ears.”

“Sure, if that’s what rocks your boat,” Tony teased, and Loki groaned in amused exasperation.

 

Tony hadn’t really planned on telling anyone about whatever he and Loki had, but of course he couldn’t hide the fact that Loki was essentially living with him.

Pepper found out when she walked in on Tony and Loki making out in the workshop. What had followed had been the longest talk Pepper had ever directed his way, and it had been a real effort to make her believe Tony wasn’t just being used, or somehow still hung up on Lori. 

After that talk, Pepper had insisted on discussing with Loki in private, and Tony had almost gone mad waiting. He’d asked Jarvis to eavesdrop, but the AI said Pepper had told him not to tell Tony a thing. Tony tried to argue by reminding Jarvis who exactly was his boss, but the strange bond Jarvis and Pepper had could not be broken.

Eventually, Pepper and Loki had returned to him, both alive and neither hurt. Loki later told Tony that Pepper had threatened him with all sorts of things if he was planning on hurting Tony in any way, physical or emotional.

“She’s quite fearless,” Loki hummed, amused. “There’s nothing she could do to hurt me, and yet she behaved as if she had all the power and I had none.”

“Yeah, she’s quite something,” Tony shuddered, thinking of all the times Pepper had put him in his place. 

 

Bruce came by one day, and since Loki happened to be there, Tony saw no reason to hide him. Bruce took it all quite well (and was far less surprised than Tony would had hoped; apparently, he had suspected for a while), and the three of them had a great time talking about science, magic, and everything in between. Bruce said Fury was quite pissed off because somebody had stolen a significant amount of the tech they’d gotten from Tony. Tony raised his hands and pleaded ignorance, while Loki didn’t even try to hide his involvement, grinning wildly and eagerly asking for more details about Fury’s fury.

 

One night, as they were lying in bed, Loki took up the subject of Doom. Tony was all ears.

“The people you keep calling Fantastic did indeed track him down,” Loki explained. “I found him after I’d left Asgard. They’re keeping him locked up, but I have no doubt in my mind he’ll manage to escape. He’s stronger than you think.”

“Do you know why he was working with Amora?”

“Apparently, he wanted your tech, and Amora had offered to help,” Loki replied. “I don’t know where or how they met, but Amora clearly saw an opportunity to get to Thor. Doom was never her slave, but I suspect she might have turned him into one without a second thought, had it been convenient for her.”

“So she just wanted Thor?” Tony raised a brow. “ _ All this  _ for Thor?”

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?” Loki chuckled. “Well, I suppose she had also found out about my condition and punishment, and saw an opportunity. Two birds with one stone - get Thor for herself, and my magic as a bonus.”

“And together Doom and Amora managed to make the collar, and those weird devices?”

Loki nodded. “I went back to Doom’s base. I found the devices - none of them operational. I wonder if Amora had bound them to herself, and when she left this realm, they stopped working.”

“That's possible?”

“Of course,” Loki shrugged. “She knew Doom could use those things against her, so she probably made them in a way which could not harm her.”

“Cunning bitch,” Tony scoffed. 

Loki hummed and took his hand in thought. Tony looked at their interlocked fingers and felt a wave of comfort coursing through him. It was strange, being so comfortable with Loki after all the weird shit that had started and almost ended their… well,  _ relationship  _ was a decent word to describe it, he guessed. Tony didn’t know where it was going, or whether it would last, but he was going to make damn sure they’d enjoy every second they had.

He looked to his side and noticed Loki staring at him with a soft expression. He didn’t need to ask to know similar thoughts were going through his head, as well.

“Thank you, Tony,” Loki whispered.

“For what?”

“For more than you know,” he replied, and pressed a soft kiss on his lips.

It was all the answers Tony needed.


	25. The Epilogue

Life went on. Loki came, he went, but was suddenly a constant in Tony’s life. Bruce visited from time to time, and if Loki was around, the three of them would formulate exciting theories about science and magic, easily spending hours absorbed in it all. Both Loki and Bruce were still dancing on eggshells in each other’s company, but so far there had been no sight of unwelcome green.

Since Bruce was still working for SHIELD and seemed not too happy about it, Tony offered him a chance to stay with him, instead. He had a Hulk-proof room, and absolutely no problem with housing Bruce. The doctor didn’t agree to anything, but looked pensive enough to give Tony hope.

SHIELD, miraculously, left Tony alone. Coulson came over once, but Tony refused to talk to him. Pepper chatted with him for about an hour, and later told Tony that the agent wished him no ill. Tony snorted at this, sure that being friendly with Coulson meant getting too close to Fury. That bridge was thoroughly burned.

Thor dropped by, unannounced, and Loki wasn’t even present. Tony was extremely uncomfortable with the visit, since Thor seemed to have no idea of the kind of relationship he had with Loki. Thor kept saying he didn’t know where Loki went, and that he wouldn’t tell him. Thor complained that Loki seemed to avoid him, and Tony could only offer the vague consolation that Loki was probably just enjoying his freedom. Later, Tony complained about this all to Loki, in turn; he was of the opinion that Loki needed to sit down with Thor and tell him about whatever was going on between him and Tony. Not that Tony particularly wanted to tell Thor, but it would probably come out sooner or later, and Tony thought it was better if Loki told his brother in private.

Loki sighed in frustration and dismissed the idea, saying he’d do it eventually. Tony huffed - until then, he’d just have to be very careful about what he said around Thor.

 

Doom, as Loki had predicted, escaped the Fantastic Four’s clutches and sought vengeance on Tony for the loss of his tech. He never arrived personally at Tony’s tower, but sent plenty of doombots. Tony was having none of it, and thankfully had Loki with him. Together, they fought off the attack, but weren’t alone; the Fantastic Four showed up to the scene, strangely accompanied by Clint, and between them they defeated the robots.

Clint disappeared by the end, but the Four stayed. Tony invited them in, but they refused. They said they’d been tracking Doom’s movements since his escape, and promised Tony that if Doom was ever a problem again, he only needed to ask and they would come to his aid.

It hurt Tony’s pride a bit to be in a position where a gang of heroes were offering to protect him (and judging by Loki’s expression, he wasn’t too fond of the idea either), but managed to thank them politely, saying he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Before the Four left, Tony had to ask about Hawkeye. According to the Four, Clint was keeping an eye on Tony’s tower. This was not okay with Tony at all, but the Four seemed to think it was a nice thing to do, so Tony said no more to them.

Later, he raved about it to Loki, furious that SHIELD was still monitoring him. Loki didn’t seem angry at all, and by his demeanor, Tony figured there was something Loki knew that he didn’t. Loki assured him he was also keeping an eye on things, and nothing suggested that SHIELD was spying on him, at least not through Clint. Tony tried to press the issue, but Loki wouldn’t budge; all he said was that Hawkeye wasn’t spying.

Tony had to begrudgingly accept this. Just what did Loki do all day, and what did he know?

 

Often Loki insisted on testing Spellblock’s boundaries. Tony had implemented the device into his defences, and would switch it on with Loki standing out on the balcony. Loki would then attempt to enter, while Tony would monitor the readings. So far, Loki hadn’t succeeded in using magical abilities to enter the building, but based on his own words and the readings, Tony was sure it was only a matter of time.

_ Well, fair enough, _ Tony thought.  _ He helped me create this, might as well let him try to counter it. _

 

One evening Tony was surprised and a bit disturbed to see Loki turn into Lori without a warning. ‘Lori’ proceeded to check herself in the mirror, magically fixing a few things with her look.

“Um,” Tony had to say something. “What’s up?”

“I’m going out,” Lori said in that feminine alto which brought strange and conflicting feelings to Tony. On some level, he still saw Loki and Lori as two different people, and seeing her again so suddenly made his gut lurch.

“And you have to go out as  _ her  _ because…?”

“We’re having a girls’ night out,” Lori shrugged, and Tony blinked.

“Sorry,  _ what? _ ”

“Agent Romanoff is taking me ‘clubbing,’ according to her words,” Lori frowned slightly, flicking her glorious hair over a shoulder.

“Okay, back up,” Tony rubbed his forehead. “You’re going out as a woman… with  _ Romanoff… why _ , exactly?”

“It’s a convenient disguise,” Lori replied. “And it’s fun, the way Midgardian men react to beauty.”

“But why with Romanoff?”

Lori shrugged, seemingly unsure herself. “I’ve come to respect her, I suppose. I can’t trust her, and that’s the beauty of it.”

“You like the thrill…?”

“I guess,” Lori hummed. “She has a wicked sense of humour, and I enjoy it.”

“Okay, well,” Tony spread his arms, totally at a loss. “Have fun? Be careful? You know she’s still with SHIELD…”

“Don’t worry,” Lori smiled. “You know I won’t gossip about you. I’m just going to go out, maybe break a few hearts, you know.”

“You have a strange idea of fun,” Tony shook his head. He crossed his arms and eyed ‘Lori’ up and down. Seeing her again brought back so many good memories, and it confused him. All that time, his dream woman had been anything but. A part of him missed her terribly, even though he knew he had her to himself... just not in the way he had originally imagined.

Lori noticed him staring and her expression became closed.

“Do you like what you see?” she asked quietly, glancing down at herself.

“You know you’re gorgeous,” Tony replied quickly. “No matter what you look like.”

Lori said nothing. She looked away and avoided his eyes.

“Listen,” Tony took a step closer. “I don’t need Lori. I don’t  _ want  _ Lori. It’s just a bit confusing, that’s all.”

Lori looked at him again. “Do you prefer her?” her voice was quiet and reserved.

“No,” Tony breathed. “I’d rather have you be you, the  _ real  _ you.”

The illusion shattered (Tony refrained from sighing in relief) and the very male Loki stood before him again. Tony had assumed his statement would please Loki, but his expression got a bit darker, a bit sadder. 

“The real me,” he repeated.

“Yeah?” Tony wasn’t sure what was going on. “Look, I already said I don’t need Lori. I want  _ you _ .”

Loki smiled, though it was a bit strained. He came close and kissed him on the forehead lightly.

“The real me,” he hummed. “Maybe one day I’ll show you who I really am.”

Tony had no idea what was going on.

“Okay…? That sounds a bit ominous, if I’m honest with you.”

“Oh, you don’t know the half of it,” Loki huffed and looked away. He directed his gaze back on Tony and forced a smile. “But never you mind.” 

Tony stared, and suddenly a mischievous glint appeared in Loki’s eye.

“Can I borrow your phone?” he asked.

“What? Why?” Even as he spoke, Tony found himself taking out his phone; Loki’s fingers curled around it immediately.

“Just for one thing,” he said, getting past Tony’s password like a breeze.

“Hey, how do you know that?”

Loki rolled his eyes, amused. “You’re not very careful with it.”

“Didn’t realize I needed to be, in my own home…  _ What are you doing? _ ”

Loki had the camera up.

“Are you taking a  _ selfie? _ ” Tony’s confused frown was so deep that it was probably going to stick permanently. Loki held up the phone at an arm’s length.

“Smile!” he grinned, and before Tony could do a thing, Loki’s lips were firmly on his and he heard the camera click. It was over in a heartbeat, and Tony was left dumbfounded.

“Just what,” Tony was too perplexed to comprehend a thing. “I never oppose to a kiss, but…  _ what _ .” Loki grinned as he did something with the phone, and soon placed it back in Tony’s hand. He turned into Lori again, and kissed him on the cheek.

“Got to run, don’t wait up!” she lilted, and teleported away with a cheery wave.

“Just  _ what _ ,” Tony muttered to himself, browsing his phone. It wasn’t long before his phone buzzed with a new message, from Thor of all people.

_ WHAT IS THIS?? _ , the message read.

Scrolling up, Tony was mortified to see that Loki had send the kiss photo to Thor, with no explanation whatsoever.

There was a crack of thunder outside. Tony stared at his phone.

“Jarv.”

“Sir?”

“Let’s not let Thor in for a while, shall we?”

“Should I turn on the defences?”

“Please do.”

 

What followed was a lot yelling, a lot of explaining, and probably a few power outages in the city. No weather forecast had predicted quite such bouts of thunder.

Tony didn’t let Thor in until he’d calmed down, and afterwards they spent a lot of time talking. The conversation followed pretty much the same lines as Tony’s talk with Pepper before, except, oddly, Thor went full big-brother-mode and made Tony swear he wasn’t just using Loki or deceiving him, or forcing him to be Lori.

They came to an agreement, and were even able to laugh at the trick Loki had pulled on them both.

 

And when Loki returned from his night out, he was dismayed to find Tony and Thor drunk in the penthouse, the former trying to look upset at him for pulling a trick but slurring so much he was barely understandable, and the latter swearing they should all three go visit Asgard so that their parents could meet Loki’s new partner.

Loki could only hope they would both have such a bad hangover the next morning that they’d remember none of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Your feedback has been wonderful, and I'm very grateful that you've stuck with this story <3  
> This took much longer to write than you'd expect, and I'm glad I posted it, in the end. You're all awesome!!


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